In 2010 I did my TRIMIX and Cave CCR training with Don Shirley in his flooded mine at Miracle Waters.
I had never dived in a cave before. Being claustrophobic on land, the idea of swimming into a dark flooded mine and descending o 100m in a mine shaft was frankly alarming.
As I approached the entrance to the mine, still on the surface, my heart was beating and my anxiety levels were through the roof.
I was breathing heavily, and unused to the silence of lake diving compared to the sea, it sounded as if there was a problem with my loop.
Closing my mouthpiece, I swam over to Don and told him that I was feeling uneasy. He checked my handset, and my unit for bubbles, reassured me all was good, and motioned to carry on.
As we descended 17 meters to the entrance of the flooded mine, my anxiety levels spiked and then eased a smidge as my focus narrowed on the task ahead.
And then suddenly. as the darkness of the cave enveloped me, and my wrist torch lit up the walls of the mine, all fear and anxiety vanished.
I could do this.
This keeps us "safe" but contained in our conditioning.
This conditioning limits the range of our patterns of responses to triggers and situations.
By pushing past that fear and approaching the thing with your being on the line, the idea is modified and enriched and becomes a lived experience rather than just knowledge.
Leaning into this so-called "zone of proximal development" is a must for continued growth and learning.
It is also why having mentors in your life such as Don is so critical to help scaffold your development along the gradient of life.
For more perspective, www.rogerhorrocks.com
