London, Jul 5 (IANS): Singer Beyonce Knowles feels like a mermaid when she is surrounded by water. She says spending time near the ocean makes her feel grounded.

"I'm always happiest when I'm surrounded by water, I feel like a mermaid, I think I was a mermaid. The ocean makes me feel really small and it puts my whole life in perspective," femalefirst.co.uk quoted the 29-year-old as saying.

"It reminds me I'm a very little piece of this huge earth and it humbles me and grounds me. It makes me feel almost like I've been baptised and I'm born again when I get out of the ocean," she added.

Beyonce, who is married to American rapper Jay-Z, took a year off from work last year. She says the experiences she had left her feeling revitalised.

"I never realised I needed a year off and I never realised I didn't know how to take a year off. I went scuba diving in the red sea and the coral was spectacular, it was unreal that something that beautiful exists and I was so close to it," she said.