Watch this remarkable love story between a man trying to find himself and a common octopus who was born to hide.

On average, Americans spend 93 percent of their life indoors.

A huge drawback of our modern world is its ability to make us seem foreign or separate from the earth around us. The disconnect can make us feel isolated and stuck physically or mentally, and very quickly our experience starts to become too heavy or burdensome. We lose our zest for life.

Filmmaker Craig Foster felt this exact constraint before dedicating himself to free-diving daily in a South African kelp forest near the coast of Cape Town. Despite the grueling conditions—the water is freezing and exposed to the Benguela current—Foster began to crave the swim. He felt alive the moment he got in the ocean, and one of the ocean’s most alluring inhabitants responded in kind. The underwater footage that Foster captured is stunning on its own but the love story that unfolds is one that shouldn’t be missed.

My Octopus Teacher beautifully illustrates how we are born from nature and not merely placed into it; how our sense of community on this planet isn’t solely tied to our fellow humans. It will reignite your lust for living a vibrant life and for loving all of the earth’s creatures too. Magic!

Metta,

Drewsome.