J is for ...

JELLYFISH

I have always been one who has had mixed feelings about jellyfish – part of me is fearful of them and part of me is intrigued by them. Jellyfish are very unique creations. They almost possess a mystical aura about them. At times, I see them looking like a tornado and then as a pile of Jell-O and other times they look like the explosion I saw on a recent “24” episode of a nuclear bomb being detonated (okay, yes that is a bit far-fetched – but they look like the mushroom cloud of a bomb floating around!). Seriously, test out your vivid imagination and see what you can come up with that they look like!

Often times most of the jellyfish I have ever encountered are those that have washed ashore that have died somewhere along their journey in the deep ocean waters. When I see those washed ashore, they just do not quite in capture how they look when they are housed inside an aquarium. Jellyfish on the seashore pose as an ominous reminder to us beach-goers of what lurks beneath those dark, mysterious waters. Just seeing them laying on the sand, you can see their poisonous tentacles awaiting to attack and sting someone; it should serve as a warning that we are technically invading their home in the water and we always need to be alert to our surroundings, so as we don’t have to call out for a lifeguard to come rescue us (though, some lifeguards, well let’s just say, I might want to come rescue me, ha!)

Last September, I went to the Ripley’s Aquarium in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with one of my friends, and we were brought up-close and personal with all sorts of sea-life. I had been there one other time as high-schooler and was amazed at all that surrounded me and all the vast assortment of creatures that lived within our ocean’s deep. For whatever reason, this time, I was really astounded by the jellyfish. Maybe it was their color or the lighting in the dark blue waters that made them almost appear to be glowing. Maybe it was their ascending and descending within the waters so gracefully as if they were a ballerina dancing on her tip-toes. No matter what the ultimate reason, I remember just standing there watching them in their enclosed habitat floating around and looking at all their dangerous tentacles and thinking that even though they looked so menacing, they were still quite eye-catching.

Some days, like a jellyfish, I would love to be able to float around and just glide at a graceful pace, and yes, other days, I would love to be able to sting the mess out of someone just to prove my point, ha! But, no matter how you feel, the time you take a trek to the beach, see if you can take in a sighting or two of a jellyfish. I was actually quite intrigued to learn how many varieties of jellyfishes exist. They are all part of God’s wonderful creations for us to check-out. Just be a little more leery when you go swimming in the great ocean waters, so you don’t end up coming home with an extra souvenir.