I remember thinking today, as I fumbled around with my video gear at 80 feet, “God, I am so fortunate to witness this part of the world.” Reef Gliders has it on their sign out front: 70% OF THE WORLD IS UNDERWATER. WHY AREN’T YOU?

I’m not a particularly religious man, but days like these make me ponder: Is this what it is to be blessed? After just three dives here in Roatan, the site of the second largest coral reef system in the world, I feel nothing less than blessed. Being in the presence of this kind of diversity of life is chilling, inspiring, moving. It’s why divers dive.

Have you ever wondered about those odd collections of folks—seemingly comfortable on-land, half-naked in nothing but board shorts, tanned and tattooed, shaven, but scruffy and often smoking? Why do they go to so much trouble, spend so many years and so much money, just to ultimately load up a bunch of dorky, awkward aquanaut gear, day after day, and go sailing off to random spots offshore for an hour or two in the water?

It’s because they are not as comfortable as they seem. What they have witnessed underwater is more than spectacle, it is the real world. And it has affected them on a primal level. Divers have seen, heard, and felt, what our planet really is. Where we come from and where we are headed. Where exploration belongs and where communication and understanding is bound.

And yes, it makes it a little uncomfortable when you have to leave.