Life On the Move: A Jellyfish Perspective

Livestream video of jellyfish at the Monterey Bay Aquarium were a source of solace at the beginning of the pandemic. Accompanied by classical music, I watched liquid animals with telescoping lacey limbs pulse and drift in a 2500-gallon tank.

Swarms propelled along circulating streams of seawater that mimicked ocean currents. It was a hypnotic ballet performed by tiny creatures that normally reside in the largest living place on the planet. I often unconsciously synchronized my breathing with their contracting and expanding saffron-colored bells.

These transparent creatures with an internal glow inspired rays of hope within me. With so many questions and fear on the horizon, the freedom of their movement reminded me what it is like to be natural, wild, and spontaneous.

During this initiation into solitude, I recalled that life is about movement and constant change. Feeling their way through life, jellyfish reminded me to live in the moment.