A year ago I went through one of the most difficult times in my life. I had lost my family and my business all within a month. The heartache was 1)numbing.

I decided to go to Mexico and see if I could renew my perspective and outlook on life. To say I arrived in Mexico with a heavy heart is an 2)understatement. I booked a hotel on the 3)Baja choosing one of the less populated areas for tourists.

It was in late February which also happens to be when the grey whales swim down to have their babies. I decided that I 4)may as well do something other than sit in the sun and feel sorry for myself， so I booked a day trip to see the whales. I was not prepared for what happened.

On arrival at the 5)marina， we were 6)chaperoned into little motor boats. I have seen pictures of people out whale watching and at least they had boats larger than the whales. Not here. Each boat seated 6 people and off we went in search of whales.

We soon saw a couple of 7)water spouts which our guide said were whales. The captain of our boat took off in that direction. Soon there were a number of grey whales swimming close enough to get a look and some pictures. Our guide alerted us to a huge spot moving closer to the boat. We were a little 8)apprehensive because these whales were at least twice as long as our boat.

To my utter amazement， all of a sudden one surfaced right in front of my face. It had swum under the boat and came up on my side. I thought I was imagining that it took a very good look at me.

Well， let me tell you， that was some sight. Everyone was trying to take pictures of her

under the water before she swam away. Within a few minutes she was back. Once again surfacing right beside me. Once again， she looked me right in the eye.

The next time I was ready for her. She surfaced in front of my eyes and I reached out to touch her. She stayed on top of the water long enough for me to rub her beautiful 9)barnacle covered， scarred head and 10)snout. She did that twice. Incredible.

Everyone was busy taking pictures while I got soaked. I didn’t care. It was a miraculous feeling. She swam away and the captain 11)steered the boat toward other whales we could see in the distance.

Then the guide yelled again that two were coming close to the boat. There was my newfound friend with her baby. It was unbelievable to see how she 12)nudged her baby toward our boat. She was bringing her baby to meet me! Before long， I was within 5 feet of the most beautiful baby whale you can imagine. The mother swam just on the other side of her and after I had long enough to

13)absorb what I was seeing， she guided her baby away from the boat and out into the waters.

That was the last we saw of her. On the bus trip back everyone was cheerfully talking about the experience and my “14)bonding.” The guide told us that in 18 years of conducting tours to see whales， only once before had they witnessed a whale allowing someone to touch them.

Why did this happen? I have no explanation why she chose me for the privilege. Maybe the mother whale sensed my sadness. It was a humbling experience. She helped me to see the light even though I was in a very dark place. To describe it as a religious experience is the best I can do. It brings tears to my eyes when I remember the day I came back from the 15)pit of desperation and bonded with that whale.

I appreciated the obstacles that mother whale had to overcome on her long journey to the place she would have her baby. That magical encounter paved the way for me to put life back into perspective and I came home a much wiser person.

That huge beautiful creature made me understand， that despite the obstacles life puts in your way， there is always an opportunity for a new beginning. You must never give up.

一年前，我經(jīng)歷了人生中一段最艱難的時(shí)期。一個(gè)月之內(nèi)，我失去了我的家庭和工作。我痛徹心扉，整個(gè)人都麻木了。

我決定去墨西哥走走，想看看自己能否重燃對(duì)生活的信心和憧憬。我懷著沉重的心情來(lái)到了墨西哥——這樣描述我的心情算是有些輕描淡寫(xiě)。我在巴賈半島的一家旅館訂了房間，選擇到一個(gè)較少游客的地方去。

當(dāng)時(shí)是二月末，恰好也是灰鯨順流而下去產(chǎn)子的時(shí)節(jié)。我打定主意，最好做些事情而不是坐在太陽(yáng)底下自怨自艾，于是我參加了一個(gè)觀鯨一日游。后來(lái)發(fā)生的事情出乎我的意料。

來(lái)到碼頭，我們被護(hù)送著上了幾艘小汽艇。我曾經(jīng)見(jiàn)過(guò)人們出海觀鯨的照片。他們乘坐的船只起碼比鯨要大。這里的情況不一樣。每艘小汽艇上坐著6個(gè)人，我們開(kāi)始出海尋鯨。

不久，我們看到了幾束噴柱，導(dǎo)游說(shuō)那正是鯨在活動(dòng)。我們的艇長(zhǎng)馬上將艇開(kāi)向那個(gè)方向。很快，就有多頭灰鯨在我們汽艇附近游動(dòng)，供我們觀賞和拍照。導(dǎo)游提醒我們注意有個(gè)巨大的斑點(diǎn)正在靠近我們的汽艇。我們不由得有些擔(dān)心，因?yàn)檫@些鯨的身體長(zhǎng)度至少是我們汽艇的兩倍。

讓我大吃一驚的是，突然有一頭鯨就在我的眼前冒出水面。它之前在艇下游動(dòng)，這時(shí)出現(xiàn)在我的身旁。我猜想，它早就在仔細(xì)地關(guān)注我了。

嗯，告訴你們吧，那情景的確挺壯觀的。艇上的每個(gè)人都試圖在她游走之前拍下她在水中的照片。幾分鐘過(guò)后，她回來(lái)了，就在我的旁邊再一次浮出水面。而且她又一次徑直注視著我。

接下來(lái)的一次，我有心理準(zhǔn)備了。她在我面前游出水面，我伸出手去觸摸她。她在水面停留了較長(zhǎng)時(shí)間，我得以伸手去撫摸她那美麗的頭和口鼻，上面粘附著藤壺且?guī)в袀邸ＫＡ袅藘纱?。令人難以置信！

大家都在忙著拍照，而我已全身濕透。我不在意。這是一種不可思議的感覺(jué)。在她游走之后，艇長(zhǎng)駕駛著汽艇朝其他的灰鯨駛?cè)?，我們遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)就可以看見(jiàn)它們。

接著，導(dǎo)游大叫道，又有兩頭灰鯨正在靠近我們的汽艇。那是我的新朋友和她的孩子?？粗p推著她的孩子朝我們的汽艇游來(lái)，實(shí)在讓人難以置信。她正帶著她的孩子來(lái)看我！沒(méi)多久，我和那頭你能想象到的最漂亮的幼鯨距離不過(guò)5英尺（約1.5米）。她的母親在她的另一側(cè)游動(dòng)，在我著迷于眼前的景象好一陣子之后，母鯨帶著她的孩子遠(yuǎn)離了汽艇，鉆入水中。

那是我們最后一次看到她。在返程的大巴上，大家都高興地談?wù)撝鴦偛诺慕?jīng)歷以及我和那頭母鯨的“親密接觸”。導(dǎo)游告訴我們說(shuō)，在帶團(tuán)觀鯨的18年里，鯨魚(yú)讓人觸摸的場(chǎng)面，他們僅目擊過(guò)一次。

為什么會(huì)發(fā)生這樣的事情呢？我無(wú)法解釋為何那頭母鯨選擇給予我“特殊待遇”。也許，她感覺(jué)到了我的悲傷。這是一次謙卑的經(jīng)歷。盡管當(dāng)時(shí)我的世界漆黑一片，她卻讓我看到了希望之光。我只能把這一經(jīng)歷描述為一次神圣的體驗(yàn)。那天我走出了絕望的深淵，并和那頭母鯨結(jié)下了友誼。想起這個(gè)，我不禁熱淚盈眶。

母鯨在前往產(chǎn)子地的長(zhǎng)途旅程中必須克服種種困難，我很欽佩她們那不畏艱險(xiǎn)的勇敢精神。那次不可思議的遭遇讓我找回了人生的方向。回家的時(shí)候，我豁達(dá)多了。

那美麗的巨鯨讓我明白了，盡管生活充滿諸多障礙，但總有機(jī)會(huì)迎來(lái)新的開(kāi)始。你必須永不言棄！

編后語(yǔ)

曾經(jīng)看過(guò)一個(gè)電視節(jié)目，說(shuō)的是一個(gè)女孩與海豚之間的故事。最后，女孩在水中與海豚擁抱親吻的畫(huà)面一直讓我記憶猶新——那一刻，人與動(dòng)物之間的那份親密和默契令人驚嘆！我相信，動(dòng)物都是有靈性的，這或許也是那么多人喜歡養(yǎng)寵物的原因。當(dāng)你寂寞或悲傷時(shí)，一只小貓或小狗的陪伴會(huì)讓你感到一份溫存和撫慰，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，其實(shí)你并不孤單！

有時(shí)候，逆風(fēng)的方向更適合飛翔！我們應(yīng)該學(xué)會(huì)逆著光感受愛(ài)存在的地方……（Maisie）