Beluga Whale Hits the River


Wonders never cease. Just when those in our area of the Delaware River were beginning to recover from the recent floods, a whale arrives to shake things up.

A 15-foot Beluga whale-now identified as named "Helis" and hailing from the St. Lawrence Estuary in Canada--has been spotted swimming up and down the water near Trenton, New Jersey. Passersby gathered to spot the beautiful creature today. Although I wasn't among those to who saw him, a few lucky neighbors spotted him making playful splashes.

All this talk about whales had made me wonder what made this lone traveler (who if he is true to his breed, usually migrates in pods of two to 25) choose to get so off-course to take a 125-mile detour away from the sea, a 800-mile detour from home.

Everyone has ideas. Perhaps the flooding, some say. Perhaps the plentiful herring and shad in these parts, say others. But no one really knows for sure. Except the whale.

I can relate. Sometimes I get off-course too. Whether it's worrying about what others think, watching the signs "out there" rather than tuning inward, or simply going with the flow-sometimes too much so-occasionally in my life I have looked around and wondered, "Now how the heck did I get here?"

Whether you call them epiphanies, hitting rock bottom or great awakenings, our detours, however painful, give our lives their character.

Sometimes wrong turns can be great adventures, giving us clarity and new ideas. Often, they give us the opportunity to shed our skins and begin anew, a surprising benefit freshwater has on beluga whales, experts say. Occasionally, they take us to places more incredible than our wildest dreams, just by "accident."

So, I say to the Beluga, whatever your reason for being here, be it a personal adventure, wrong turn, or perhaps even a blessing to those like me who needed to look at their surroundings a bit differently--follow your soul home, my friend.

May you be safe, well, and enriched somehow by being one of the few-if not the only-of your kind to have ever traveled these waters.

(c) 2005 Laurie Smith

Laurie Smith is an inspirational writer and workshop facilitator. She speaks at schools, organizations and corporations to kids and adults on creating the lives of their dreams. To read more articles like this, check out her blog at www.soulwisdom.blogspot.com">http://www.soulwisdom.blogspot.com.


MORE RESOURCES:

Christ in Youth to host inspirational weekend at the Civic Center
Canton Daily Ledger
For more information, go to ciy.com/believe.com. More than 1000 junior high school-aged children will unite for the Christ in Youth (CIY) “2012 Believe: Word Tour” Feb. 10-11 at the Peoria Civic Center. The inspirational weekend provides high-energy, ...



Dr. Tererai Trent, Founder of Tinogona, to Speak at Walden University Academic ...
Sacramento Bee
Inspirational voice for empowerment, education and change will address doctoral students on Feb. 18 in Atlanta By Walden University MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 7, 2012 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Tererai Trent, inspirational speaker and founder of the nonprofit ...

and more »


IPPmedia

Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC) secretary general Filbert Bayi
IPPmedia
Chairman of the London 2012 Olympics organising committee Lord Sebastian Coe said his committee through the International Inspiration (II) has a vision to transform the lives of over two million children of all abilities in the country through sporting ...

and more »


Aspire Goals 1.0 for iOS - Set and Achieve Goals Through Visualization
prMac (press release)
[prMac.com] Melbourne, Australia - Digital Oddities today is pleased to introduce Aspire Goals 1.0 for iOS, their new Productivity app for setting and achieving goals through motivational analysis and goal visualization. Achieving goals is 80% mental ...

and more »


Five Things: Green Line Station, Back Yard Garden Design
Patch.com
Her talk, "garden design for your back yard," will include photos, inspiration and information about creating high or low maintenance gardens. The talk starts at 7 pm at the Tufts Administration Building, 167 Holland St. Brett's new book, ...



OUTDOORSmagic

New Swiss Alps Guide From Cicerone
OUTDOORSmagic
by Jon Plenty of images doing the inspirational bit with a side-order of dense, factual text. Purple box-outs focus on historical figures or stand-out treks. The latest in Cicerone's excellent World Mountain Ranges series, is a new guide to the Swiss ...



Christian News Wire (press release)

The Perfect Sacrifice -- When Heaven Comes to Earth
Christian News Wire (press release)
This new DVD, The Perfect Sacrifice, provides information to help Catholics and non-Catholic understand what they believe and why they believe it. It's inspirational, informative and emotional at times. Producer, Chuck Neff of SaltRiver Productions ...



AboutMyArea

The Stony Means Business Exhibition
AboutMyArea
The event consists of an exhibition from local businesses and an inspiring talk by guest speaker Dr Julie Bradshaw MBE. With limited capacity at the venue, it is essential to book on line to reserve your place for what is sure to be a very popular ...



"Former Radio One COO, Mary Catherine Sneed, Joins Light Media"
MarketWatch (press release)
6, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Light Media (otc markets:LGMH), Inspirational Media Specialist, announced today that Mary Catherine Sneed, a leading radio industry catalyst and pioneer, has joined its team. Recognized by RadioInk Magazine as one of ...

and more »


Will Zuckerberg's IPO letter be as inspiring as Larry Page's?
ZDNet (blog)
Just 90 minutes to try and find and write the best news stories, looking at the same information that thousands of journalists were looking at. Our job was made tougher because our US competition had far more time, the Wall Street Journal and the New ...

and more »

Google News

lincolnhsbrooklyn.com ©