Ever felt so cornered and conquered with the hustling of today’s human world, as we know it? Ever felt like shutting off the world for moments and being in the comfort of your own heartbeat? I believe you can find this peace below the waves.

Deep in the unknown, I found myself. Away from worries and society, floating in the deep blue and green while puffs of my own fluorescent bubbles escape my lips and rush to the glaring surface. Holding nothing but a tank of air on my back and breathing into a tube. The bare minimal is all you need here. Air to breath, your open mind and eyes, and your limp floating body gliding through hands of water is all you have.

Tumbling miles of colorful coral surround the Gulf of Mexico around me. It is silent; the only sound heard is the waves crashing above, and your simple breath inhaling. The peaceful moment is present, alive. The few heartbeats that swim past are in no rush. The eagle in the sky, the sea turtle, glides above me in happiness while little fish escape into their simple homes. Stingrays spread their wings but rather than flap, they skate across the current. Everything is vibrant and coexisting with nature.

Nothing is fake. Nothing is man-made but you. A fake and man made copy of every human being in the world disrupting this silence. You shake away this persona and society’s mask while crisp clean thoughts rush into you. The sand below welcomes this and caresses your toes, alive and in sync the creatures speak and greet you with their simplicity, the crisp cut above you dividing the deep blues to the airy above dances in the wind. Reflecting down at you the immense sunshine tickles your saturated skin and gives you the warm feeling of home.

As I take my last breath of air in the tank, my heart starts to quicken. My mask is placed back on and my bubbles rather than drift far away from me in the distance attack me all at once. I kick and I scream as my buoyancy lifts me up to reality. The peaceful dream is over as I spring to the surface. Gasping for breath, everything comes down at once. The sun glares at me now. The sky is a loud rambunctious place for birds and man-made machinery. The boats fly past in a rush for nothing. The people and the voices and the pressure come at me all at once.

My little piece of happiness -- my secret escape -- had drawn to an unwelcoming end.