Watching the octopus breathe

Back before this watershed incident occurred – a day before, a whole night before – a bunch of us went down to the beach for one of the lowest tides in recent memory, to look at tidepool creatures in the middle of the night. Among other wonders we saw this little red octopus, rumored to be venomous, that my amazing friend M, the beach naturalist, photographed while several of us held the lights just so. The creature is small – about the size of my hand. The tide was still going out when we found it, and it was already beached on the sand, which means it couldn't breathe, or swim, or do anything but lie there waiting to die.

It didn't die though. My friend found it (a different friend – the one who really needed to find it), and it was scooped up ever so gently on a shell full of sand, and moved into some water where we could take a closer look. After awhile we walked it out to deeper water at the edge of the tide, and let it go. I hope it's still alive and breathing, loving every day of its little red octopus life.

Mindfully watching my own breath is mainly what I do for meditation practice, and it was beautiful to breathe with this octopus and watch our breath together. Its body looked like a little red heart beating. It would expand as it inhaled the ocean, and then on the exhale a little clear burble, like a miniature drinking fountain, swelled up on the surface of the sea. The water was totally clear. I could see every grain of sand.

Sometimes just to breathe is enough. Sometimes, you do get saved.