So, I imagine you are wondering, how do you have safe contact, let alone connection, with such a huge animal (up to 52 feet long and weighing 40 tons), while you are a little person in a very small boat? The whales make it happen.
The most friendly of these whales (the "friendlies" as they are called) seek out human contact and even revel in it. They gently approach our panga (we are not allowed to approach them). They look at us, and we can see our own reflections in their curious eyes. They hang out with us for up to an hour, allowing us to touch them, kiss them, stroke them and rub their six foot lip lines and huge bodies. They give us a big whale smile, opening their mouths and showing us their baleen. Sometimes they roll upside down, like a dog asking to have its belly rubbed, and ever so gently rub up against the boat. It is not just contact, it is an amazing connection, and we feel completely safe, joyful and fully alive.
The whales allow us to touch them, and we in turn are touched. They receive our love, and we theirs. It is a wonderful lovefest.
The gray whale was hunted almost to extinction by whalers who called them "devilfish". But these whales are far from "devilfish" and they don't hold a grudge for our ancestor's transgressions. They seem to have forgiven us humans.
These 'friendly' gray whales are fully alive and express that aliveness in their interactions with us and we with them. It is a transformative experience.
So what do these creatures, the ballena gris, teach us about connection?
Here are a few of the lessons from the whales that we should all learn when dealing with our partners to create safe connection:
1. Approach gently
2. Look each other in the eye
3. Smile often
4. Have fun on a regular basis
5. Allow yourself to be touched (receive love)
6. Forgive and make-up (don't hold a grudge)
7. Be fully alive and express your aliveness
