I find that I truly enjoy being fascinated with a particular topic or subject. It doesn’t necessarily matter what the subject is, and moreover, I find I can become fascinated with almost any topic. I don’t feel the need to master the subject; rather, maintaining an intrinsic fascination with something appeals more to me than mastering it.

There are a few items that I’ve been fascinated with over time, ever since I was a kid. For one, I’ve always been fascinated with crocodiles and alligators. They’re just such unique and amazing creatures, and they move so strangely. As humans we each relate to animals differently, and often we relate more easily to the similarities we have with some species. Maybe I’m fascinated with these reptiles because they’re so different, and deep down I could never truly understand their nature.

Take dolphins as another example. Lots of people believe dolphins are of another world or hold magical powers. Some think that dolphins are the remnant species of the people lost in Atlantis. Get that? Dolphins are people, but they’ve evolved.

A scientist would claim that dolphins are just another species on this planet, having no major connections to humans than any other species would. People are drawn to feel related to dolphins simply because a dolphin’s smile looks similar to a human’s. Sure, this is a natural response; we believe we can see our pet dogs smile, too.

But should a friendly smile really lead us to believe that dolphins are magical creatures? Should humans really believe that dolphins are more highly evolved human beings? Why the dolphin? Why not a raccoon or a killer whale or one of the trillion squirrels outside my house? They’re mammals, too!

What I’m getting at here is that many people love to feel that dolphins are more than just sea mammals. Regardless of scientific or other proof, people just like to believe that these creatures are magical. People find some joy in being fascinated by the notion that a species other than humans are of higher intelligence or have souls.

The question is, do people really, deeply, and truly believe that dolphins are of a higher or similar order as humans? Or are they really just in love with the idea of being fascinated in something? Of course, there are some people that truly believe things like this, but there’s a nut for everything, isn’t there?

To be fascinated appeals to our inquisitive nature, to the little voice inside each of us that longs to know WHY. Why are we here and why do we seem to be the only species that has some greater intelligence or divine purpose? If we’re more highly evolved than the other species, surely there’s something more highly evolved than us, right?

So since our need to be fascinated appeals to some of our much deeper roots in human nature, is there really anything wrong with individuals that believe dolphins are gods? I don’t think so. I think it’s a necessary part of life, to believe in something that can’t be proved. Similar to religion, people feel the need to find answers to unknowable questions. Same thing with fascination.

So be fascinated with whatever you want! It doesn’t really matter the premise or the provability of your subject. What really matters is your human intelligence, your way of creating something out of nothing, your way of interpreting your custom little world, your way of inferring truths from subjective material based on your experience and future outlook. So be yourself, and be fascinated with something!