Merworld Freedom

While it is true the Mermaid Burial on Benbecula piqued my curiosity and enlivened my armchair research self (pass me my pipe and the globe, I need to ponder on my leather study chair). There is a bigger reason I am intoxicated by the Merworld. In short, the deep and endless waters create hope for true freedom. Let me explain.

While writing Beul Nam Beinn: A Merworld Fantasy, I would for those scenes deep underwater immerse myself in the open sea or a pool and think as I did. Especially for the character Posie (yes there is a bit of me in him) I found myself in the water thinking- how would it be? What would he feel? What would his thought be?

Posie being half Mer finds great joy in simply swimming endlessly. For myself, so much of the oceans are not explored and the depths and immensity of the waters of the world feel somewhat endless (though I know this isn’t true…as a human, I certainly think thoughts of the water and all take us to our true limits in contemplation.

So, I wrote scenes between swims and floats in water. I especially recall a break from teaching on Paje Beach in Zanzibar. There were great tranquility and such beauty. I swam laps at a resort pool and scanned the far waves of the Indian Ocean. I would swim until tired thinking the whole time and jump out towel dry and quickly scrawl down my thoughts and ideas related to scenes I created.

The deep is truly mysterious and the waters for our limited purpose are endless. When we jump into the Merworld- immersed in waters or simply in our minds, we give ourselves the freedoms we seldom experience. We are simply alive and wholly in a kind of trance or peace which I suspect is closest to our natural state. There is health in finding freedom and releasing and enjoying life.

The Merworld will always represent this to me—simple freedom. Give yourself this freedom. Life is not about money or stuff or how others see you. Life is deeply about love. What greater way to love yourself than to open to freedom.