Tag Archives: early morning swim

WHAT HAVE I FALLEN IN LOVE WITH TODAY

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This week, On Being with Krista Kippett asks the question: Have you fallen in love with something today? I love the answer in Mary Oliver’s poem Mindful.

Everyday
I see or hear
something
that more or less

kills me
with delight,
that leaves me
like a needle

in the haystack
of light.
It was what I was born for —
to look, to listen,

to lose myself
inside this soft world —
to instruct myself
over and over

in joy,
and acclamation.
Nor am I talking
about the exceptional,

the fearful, the dreadful,
the very extravagant —
but of the ordinary,
the common, the very drab,

the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar,
I say to myself,
how can you help

but grow wise
with such teachings
as these —
the untrimmable light

of the world,
the ocean’s shine,
the prayers that are made
out of grass?

That’s how I am with my world though I cannot express it as clearly and lovely as the poet. My life feels very small and I am but a small person. Yet I am awed by the very ordinariness of what is my life. Today, I have fallen in love with the peace and darkness of an early Saturday morning. I love the light on the bridge driving to the YWCA and the swimming pool waiting just for me. Mostly I am the lone swimmer on Saturday mornings. I fell in love with the softness of the water, how it held me in its warmth as I swam up and down the pool’s length.

Today I fell in love with time in friendship – the easy conversation, mutual trust and appreciation. The coffee was adequate, the meal meager but I am nourished in body and spirit. It is very little but a lot that I ask for. A little time. A little conversation. A little love.

That’s all I have on the 5th day of the Ultimate Blog Challenge.

SHOULDS AND MUSTS

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Another beautiful sunny October day. It was a little frosty in the morning. Refreshing and a good waker upper. I got off to my Saturday morning swim. I had to fight and struggle with my natural inclination. I had all kinds of reasons not to go. My sinuses seemed to be acting up. Would the chlorine be a good thing? Gee, I have an embroidery class at 10 am. Can I possibly do one thing right after another? They were not good reasons.

My sinuses were fine. It was just the-right- out-of-bed thing in the morning. They cleared soon enough. Saturday morning was not a busy time at the pool. I’m the lone swimmer for the first while. It’s such a beautiful feeling to be the first one to slip into the water and glide. My swim ends at 9. I have an hour to shower, dress and get to The Sewing Machine Store. It was perfect timing. I was so happy that I had done both. The morning swim was a delicious start to the day. The embroidery class was excellent. I’m almost ready to tackle using my embroidery module soon.

I have to remember the good feeling for next Saturday. I go through this every week. I have no problem with motivation when the event is days off. But the night before, my resolves starts to sag and my nesting feelings kick in. ‘I want to stay home’ starts to sing in my head. I’m pathetic. I never want to grab the tiger by the tail. Mostly I do things because I know they are good for me. That’s why and how I do everything – it’s good for me. And they are.

I cannot trust my natural inclinations to do the right things. I tend to vegetate, take the comfort and not necessarily the high road. I have to work at things. I need those shoulds and musts on my list of things to do. I need them to get off the couch.

 

TRYING – day 199 in a year of…

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Day 199, February 11, 2017 @3:56 pm

I love trying, making efforts to have a better day, to be kinder and more compassionate, to talk less and listen more, to be more active and less sedentary. I love trying to be just a little better at everything than before. So easy to maintain status quo, dust my hands off and say good enough. I feel a bit of a hipocrate because that’s what I often say. But I am trying in this year of doing different.

There’s so many lessons in our everyday little things, little nuggets of wisdom. I see and hear them when I stop my chattering and fretting. I can hear the voice talking to me. Then I know what it is that I need to do – divine guidance. I take a moment to register it. It makes me feel good. It makes me smile.

img_0075-4That was the way it was this morning. It really is not easy to head out in the dark for a morning swim. The thought is nauseating but I also remember how good it feels after. So I head out. The fitness centre parking lot is pretty empty. The receptionist is just opening her desk. We give each other good mornings. I enter the empty locker room.

I was greeted by the life guard. The water was so still and blue, 3 ropes marking the empty lanes. I was elated as I waded into the warm water. A lane all to myself. No dodging another body. Nobody to grab my toes for going too slow. My solitary swim lasted 20 minutes but I had the lane to myself for 40 minutes. It was good enough. My back stroke is improving. Another Saturday morning swim. Will try again next week.

Swimming is fun. Life is good.