Pacifically
Good evening. How are you? What was the highlight of your day? The highlight for me, was swimming in the Pacific ocean at sunset. Surrounded by salt water, defying gravity with the buoyancy of the H2O. We went in up to our ribs, and just played in the waves. It was a high tide.
The ocean brings so many perspectives. At first I was just happy to feel the water swirl around me. Then there is the shock of the first drop of salty water on the tongue. Ick. How could I forget to remember to keep my mouth shut? Then it's that last wave that gets me wet up to my shoulders. After that I'm good. The water wasn't as warm today as it has been before. But still not bad. The sun went behind a cloud, and the clouds started to turn orange. The tide was still coming in a bit, and the waves were a wonderous kind of noisy. Just crashing all around us. Not that tall, only 4-5 feet maybe.
But the ocean is like life. It's all about timing. And where you are. And how fast you can move. And which way you are looking. I did much better when I forgot about the beach, and watched for incoming waves. I like taking time out from life to watch each wave, and that exact moment when it finally crests and crashes down. If you aren't paying attention, it will go up over your head. Or it will smash into you and knock you over. Or, the one that really amuses me, is if it's juuuuuust right, it will smack you like a giant hand. It slammed me in the solar plexus once, and thank goodness it wasn't too hard because that can knock the breath out of you. If you are paying attention, if you respect the power of the waves, it can be a riot. It can feel like the ocean is breathing, and you are riding the breath. It can feel like you lost 50 pounds, as you rise up and down with the waves. I felt like a little kid, just bobbing up and down and laughing at it all. Just me. And Ron. And the next wave. Very meditative.
It's so fascinating to feel lighter, and to look across a horizon of water and wave swells. Sometimes the horizon disappears in a wave of water. Then there is the best perspective of all. When I sink down enough (can I compare this to humbling myself in life?) so that my head is just above water. My whole world is reduced to the ocean.
I'm also on edge every time I swim in the ocean. There is a blessed reef that separates our beach from the rest of the ocean. Even if my brain succeeds to rule out the fear of sharks. crocodiles and large fish, there are other things to make me nervous. We saw one jellyfish on the shore. Once. There are sting rays around, but I hear they are all on the far side of the cove. My Mom says she doesn't swim in the ocean, because twice she was bitten by something that stung pretty bad. I didn't get any further details. I feel so alive when I swim! Because I am facing fears. I see others out in the water, and that makes me feel a bit better. But when that croc ate that dog... There was a guy out there fishing. Maybe he was on the shore? I've seen them in the water there before too. The croc came from the ocean, to the head of the river, that's where we were.
It takes me a while to get past all the worries, and then make myself be calm and still. We swam for over half an hour today. I always start with that trepidation, though. It goes against my natural instincts to just get in the water. Weird, eh?
The ocean brings so many perspectives. At first I was just happy to feel the water swirl around me. Then there is the shock of the first drop of salty water on the tongue. Ick. How could I forget to remember to keep my mouth shut? Then it's that last wave that gets me wet up to my shoulders. After that I'm good. The water wasn't as warm today as it has been before. But still not bad. The sun went behind a cloud, and the clouds started to turn orange. The tide was still coming in a bit, and the waves were a wonderous kind of noisy. Just crashing all around us. Not that tall, only 4-5 feet maybe.
But the ocean is like life. It's all about timing. And where you are. And how fast you can move. And which way you are looking. I did much better when I forgot about the beach, and watched for incoming waves. I like taking time out from life to watch each wave, and that exact moment when it finally crests and crashes down. If you aren't paying attention, it will go up over your head. Or it will smash into you and knock you over. Or, the one that really amuses me, is if it's juuuuuust right, it will smack you like a giant hand. It slammed me in the solar plexus once, and thank goodness it wasn't too hard because that can knock the breath out of you. If you are paying attention, if you respect the power of the waves, it can be a riot. It can feel like the ocean is breathing, and you are riding the breath. It can feel like you lost 50 pounds, as you rise up and down with the waves. I felt like a little kid, just bobbing up and down and laughing at it all. Just me. And Ron. And the next wave. Very meditative.
It's so fascinating to feel lighter, and to look across a horizon of water and wave swells. Sometimes the horizon disappears in a wave of water. Then there is the best perspective of all. When I sink down enough (can I compare this to humbling myself in life?) so that my head is just above water. My whole world is reduced to the ocean.
I'm also on edge every time I swim in the ocean. There is a blessed reef that separates our beach from the rest of the ocean. Even if my brain succeeds to rule out the fear of sharks. crocodiles and large fish, there are other things to make me nervous. We saw one jellyfish on the shore. Once. There are sting rays around, but I hear they are all on the far side of the cove. My Mom says she doesn't swim in the ocean, because twice she was bitten by something that stung pretty bad. I didn't get any further details. I feel so alive when I swim! Because I am facing fears. I see others out in the water, and that makes me feel a bit better. But when that croc ate that dog... There was a guy out there fishing. Maybe he was on the shore? I've seen them in the water there before too. The croc came from the ocean, to the head of the river, that's where we were.
It takes me a while to get past all the worries, and then make myself be calm and still. We swam for over half an hour today. I always start with that trepidation, though. It goes against my natural instincts to just get in the water. Weird, eh?
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