Really look to see

imagine painting this picture.  Look at the water light....

We really really need to look to see.  Pay attention.

Had some wonderful lessons recently on this.  First from the all time guru teacher Frodo.  I was busy teaching her to move backwards to a cue.  Basically reverse.  You need to know that Frodo sees and experiences life in much more detail than most of the other dolphins we teach.  And this has led trainers, in the past, to believe she is not very smart.  The truth is - she is way smarter than all of us combined.

When asking her to reverse, she was getting the concept quite nicely.  Then in a session she suddenly began puffing out during the behaviour.  I knew I had not unwittingly reinforced the behaviour of puffing.  But it seemed that she was becoming a little frustrated that I was not acknowledging the puff.  I watched a fellow trainer work with Frodo later in the day - fortunately - because then I saw why the puff.  My colleague was teaching Frodo to blow bubbles in the water, and to get this right, setting her in the exact same body posture as I had been setting her for the reverse.  So, we could easily have confused her and given up on her - 'because she is not that smart' (-: (-:

Truth - if she had failed we were the problem.

And this usually is the truth

I recently took up painting as a hobby.  I am currently painting Frodo.  I have looked at her delightful face for nearly 30 years.  And yesterday when I was painting her I saw, for the first time, that she has dark colouration at the base of her rostrum.  Now it is obvious.  But I have never seen it before.

I was playing with a dolphin called Zulu the other day.  She was following me around the area.  I noticed that at one points she would do an odd movement in the wrong direction.  She was playing, and not confused or worried.  It was only when I really looked that I noticed that she was actually playing with my shadow - not with my presence outside the water.

So how do we learn to see. 

I personally think - it takes a sense of humour. 

If you really are not attached to the outcome of the game with the animal's in your life - if you really are able to just play - you will see. 

Every time I have the goal alone  in mind - I go blind.

Goals are customised with journeys that need to be lived and enjoyed.
Else why bother doing this. 

We only have now after all.  That is the only real truth.

Thank God for dolphins