On one of the Antilles – Curacao – there is a world-famous Dolphin Therapy Center. I go to the wooden door and see a sign: “Out of respect for the privacy of the family, entry to the pool area is prohibited.”
Behind the door – a huge outdoor pool to the sea. In different parts of it, four “therapist” dolphins gently play with four children, who are kept on the water by the center’s staff.
These kids are not like everyone else. Autistic, mentally retarded, suffering from serious neurological disorders … Even from afar you can see how their muscles are reduced, how their faces are distorted. They make convulsive movements, fists are clenched, gestures are jerky and sharp. But, looking closer, I see the incredible joy that shines in their eyes, noticeable in every movement. They do not speak, but pride and delight are heard in their exclamations. Dolphins seem huge next to children, and their unexpectedly fast movements and jumps could well frighten any child … but there is no fear: you only feel a wave of goodness that comes from this “social group” – awkward sick children and powerful, massive animals that are capable of incredible grace, delicacy and understanding.
Little Nick is seven years old, he suffers from mental and motor impairments. Nick claps his hand on the water, calling to him Mateo – an adult dolphin, a favorite of all children. Mateo seemed to have bewitched Nick: the child’s movements become almost smooth. He moves his hand in front of the dolphin’s nose, and the dolphin looks expectantly at the boy. Realizing what is expected of him, Mateo straightens up, raises his head above the water and begins to sing: “Eeeeeeeee…” Nick squeals with delight. It seems to me that I hear his thoughts: “Dolphin is also not understood when he talks like this, but he is so wonderful!” Looking into Mateo’s eyes, the boy shakes his imaginary hand.
The dolphin, frantically working its tail to keep its balance, leans out of the water even more and waves its fins, as if stretching out a hand in response. Nick laughs uncontrollably: “See, he is also funny, with such clumsy fins, he doesn’t even have arms, and yet everyone loves him very, very much!” Encouraged by the therapist, who is next to him in the water, the boy spreads his arms wide. Mateo lowers himself into the water and swims right into his open arms. The child presses it to his chest with inexpressible, unspent tenderness and turns his gaze to his relatives standing on the edge of the pool. I see that they are crying.
“You know,” a young psychologist, the head of this program, later told me, “what touches me most is the words of the brothers and sisters of these children after two weeks of therapy. In the beginning, when they first come to us, they usually talk about their resentment towards the sick brother, who gets all the attention of their parents. And when they say goodbye, they sometimes admit that they were lucky and that they only now realized this. After all, if it were not for their brother, they would not have met with dolphins and would not have experienced such amazingly strong feelings. When I hear this, I understand that we have done our job.”
Our peace of mind depends on a successful interaction with nature.
Why can dolphins do things that humans, even those closest to them, can’t?
In the 1960s, the psychiatrist and philosopher Erich Fromm proposed the “biophilia” hypothesis, which was later developed by the biologist Edward O. Wilson*. They suggested that our mental balance depends on successful interaction with nature. Some scientists even believe that the development of the human brain was due to interaction with animals. Such a hypothesis might explain why we become happier (and objectively healthier!) when there are animals around us who wish us well.
According to one study, dolphins can relieve mild to moderate depression more quickly than antidepressants. Of course, children with autism and children with disabilities cannot be cured by dolphins. But children become more attentive, communicate more and express their feelings more clearly, interact better with siblings, and most importantly, smile and laugh more often with other people. They seem to learn something very deep about the value of their own life, about the happiness that you can give to another and experience yourself, even if your gestures are awkward, even if you can’t speak well, even without words …
* E. Fromm “The Soul of Man”. AST, 2004; S. Kellert, E.O. Wilson “The Biophilia Hypothesis”. Island Press, 1993.