By JENNIFER MOONEY

There are those things that keep us up at night; catastrophic weather, family health, money, our children, natural disasters, spiders, snakes and sharks. Peter Benchley’s Jaws kind of wrecked the ocean for us. We knew that menacing creatures were beneath us; but had not previously actually pictured the bloodshed when a human encounters a frightened or hungry Great White shark.

Woody Allen once recognized the nature of the animal in his own Allen-esque sort of way.

“A relationship, I think, is like a shark, you know? It has to constantly move forward or it dies. And I think what we got on our hands is a dead shark.”

To Ichthyologists “the shark” is an area of passion – to the rest of us s/he embodies often our greatest fears and what lurks in the darkness. S/he has been maligned and criticized, while only operating in the realm of mother nature and the animal kingdom. We both respect and fear the wrath of natural order. We might do best to accept that which is beyond our control.

We may well profess that we are the earth’s most intelligent creatures, but ultimately it’s not all up to us. Talk to the folks in Joplin, Moore, or New Orleans. There is possibly some kind of larger force – and it often is way beyond us. We are humans and mortal.

You can’t message it, manage it, control it, monetize it or stop it.

It just is and does not ask for permission.

There is some blue green open water about one hour out in the Caribbean Sea called “the shark arena.” Discovery Networks uses it as a Shark Week site. National Geographic studies the animals as their scrum hangs together (all 40+ of them) on a daily basis. One witnesses the beings in their own home.

Recently, my bikini and I found ourselves hovering over this special shark community (not in a cage) – but with a mask and fins – possibly invading their lunch hour and hoping that I wasn’t dessert. I had the unlikely chance to be part of their habitat for a few stolen moments.

Most friends have asked why I would and how I could.

The question is not why, but why not and how can anyone obsessed with “animal” behavior resist? Like all parts of the food chain we are they and they, we. They just might be a bit more straightforward about their goals and objectives.

We humans interpret, analyze, plan, execute, communicate and measure. We communicators focus on the who, what and why and then engage. There is endless thought and time applied to successfully completing the paradigm and then engaging all over again.

The shark is blind, with sandpaper like skin and sonar that senses far flung movement and environmental change. They move with grace and purpose – forward – stealth – in silence. They deftly perceive a disruption to their lifestyle, staying power, tribal behavior and livelihood. They don’t employ focus groups, send a trail balloon or connect the dots through rival news organizations.

They simply are.

We human engagers measure, script, plan, deploy and measure again. This is all about thought and deliberation. For us “elders” some experience is thrown into the mix. The best of us have good instincts and draw about it. Kind of like the sharks.

Sometimes we don’t listen to ourselves. Our world is noisy and busy. Too busy.

Cluttered, raucous, confusing.

We could take a lesson from our friends in the animal kingdom.

The day we “swam” together I was told to remain still.

One swift move and they would have acted on instinct.

They would have been predators.

They are who they are.

Their gig is about monitoring their own environment and protecting their clan. Large, small, old are young – it’s all about the senses.

It’s easy to get caught up in the chaos and not heed what we know in our gut. Our customers and publics rely upon our good judgment. The shark tribe likely knew that I hovered about their noon day romp – but their instincts may have said “don’t act, she’s just an observer.”

We could learn a thing or two.

Listen, Observe, Learn, Pace….

Or as the elder Dr Spock was known to say to young parent’s “trust yourself, you know more than you think.”