Snorkeling, sharks, fears and trust

We were snorkeling near San Diego in August. You'd think that the sunny summer waters off Southern California would be warm. Uh, no.

To guard against the cold, our instructor gave us wet suits and told us to squeeze into them. Caitlin, Scott and I quickly slithered into ours, but Terri has claustrophobia and didn't particularly relish the idea of squeezing into a thick, black, very tight, rubbery, full-body suit that zipped all the way up to her neck.

She hates confined spaces with no way out. Glaring at me, she squeezed into hers and looked for reassurance. I smiled and pointed out that the zipper (escape route) was in the back where she couldn't reach it. There was no way out. I smiled again. She did not.

In cold water, the first time you go under you reflexively gasp and try to breathe. Your brain forgets about breathing through your snorkel and you try to breathe through your nose, which is in a mask, which has no oxygen, and you gag and swallow three gallons of salt water. You don't see many fish while you're throwing up.

Our guide showed us how to blow the water out of our snorkels so we wouldn't swallow it. So we dunked, and we gasped, and tried to remember to breathe through the snorkel. Three people threw up.

We started swimming in the ocean and swam close to a cave, five seals, three leopard sharks and several different stages of panic. The ocean waves were rolling over us and tossing us side to side. So far we hadn't come close to going under to see what was below.

Our guide told us about the things he was seeing under the water. There were orange Garibaldi, spotted sea bass, an eel, and several more leopard sharks. He swore we wouldn't regret going under. He knew what he was talking about. He said he had been doing this for a very long time. He showed us a small shark bite to prove it.

We didn't understand at first and every time something new and disturbing happened we got a little worried. But the more we learned, the more comfortable we were snorkeling, and the more we enjoyed the experience. Gradually, we got used to the waves. We got used to blowing water out of the snorkel. We even started putting our heads under to make sure the leopard sharks didn't appear hungry.

Eventually we believed what our guide was telling us. Now we had faith -- sort of like that first person who looked at a cow and said, "I think I'll squeeze those dangly things there and drink whatever comes out."

Worrying about the investment markets is sort of like worrying about snorkeling. A lot of very good, very smart people miss great opportunities because of the fear of things they don't understand or can't see.

There are things you may not understand, like fluctuations in the market. But if you have faith, and maybe even get someone to guide you, good things can happen and you won't miss out on the long-term opportunities of owning good quality investments. And then you can go snorkeling.

Joe Cunningham Jr. is a certified financial planner and member of the Ark-La-Tex Chapter of the Financial Planning Association, whose members contribute to this column on a weekly basis.

(http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051123/NEWS05/511230313/1064 - November 23, 2005)