The Whale Sighting

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The whale sighting left me exhilarated and gleeful like john. But deeper down, i also remember feeling shaken like dave. Nothing about the animal registered to me as playful welcoming. It just appeared in the distance, then transited quickly past us from left to right. My uneasiness had something to do with the whale's great size and indifference, its obliviousness as it passed. Watching it made me feel profoundly out of place and register how large that wilderness was relative to me. Never then or now, have i been able to look at a cloudless sky at night and see beauty there, a kind of grandeur, yes, but not beauty. The profusion and variety

It was meant to mark the start of their lives out of college, but the adventure quickly turned into a nightmare. Beginning with what seemed to be a lucky whale sighting, three friends set out on a sea-kayaking trip through Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska, watching out for bears, and having a good time, when tragedy struck.

In recounting the days preceding and following the accident, which seriously injured one of his friends, the Times journalist Jon Mooallem explains how he was forced to reckon with his fears. Detailing the incident’s surprising repercussions, he muses on the importance of overcoming one’s fears, and finding poetry in life’s darkest moments.

This story was written by Jon Mooallem. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.