Otter Ecstacy – Why I Vow to be Otterlike in 2026

I’m lying here, on my back, listening to Mozart and thinking about…otters.

Mozart? Otters?

I just got back from Morrow Bay, on the California Coast where, in an almost zen-like trance, I watched otters…and vowed, in this new year, that I would become more otter-like.

Why?

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They’re playful.

I vow to be more playful.

Otters are cute. I haven’t been cute since I was six years old. But why are they cute? Probably because they look childlike, waving their funny little paws while lying on their backs in the water, squeaking and whistling.

Its not because they have baby-faces. In fact, they have mustaches and look a bit like Teddy Roosevelt.

What I love about otters is their seemingly carefree way of hanging out in packs with friends, sometimes bumping into and rolling over one another, grasping each other’s tiny feet, probably engaging in stimulating debate or sharing otterly ridiculous jokes.

Friends are important. I’m going to spend more time with friends in the new year.

Otters lie on their backs on a comfy waterbed, sometimes twisting and spinning, grooming their sleek coats. I don’t have a sleek coat, but I do have dreams of lying on my back, listening to Mozart, Mahler or Miles, just drifting along.

Sometimes otters dive and immerse themselves in a magical kelp forest.

In my dreams.

I share their love of shellfish. I could live in a place where fishermen drop scraps from their catch, though I doubt that I could lie on my back and crack open a clam with a rock. I’ve never been very good with tools.

Biggest thing is that otters seem happy. I don’t know what is going on in their little heads. Maybe I  don’t want to.  Could be scared of Great White sharks, but they are in a safe harbor, as I am, fortunate not to be frightened by sharks: water sharks, land sharks or sharks with pearly teeth on TV.

But, whatever the otters are thinking, they project happiness.

And I will go along with that.

Stay healthy and safe, keep the Great White Sharks at bay, and have and have a Happy 2026.