Floating Through Life

When the going gets tough, the tough surrender

- Ms. Simone Preuss

Water and especially the sea has held a great significance in my life - my earliest memories are of hours spent on the beach, being chased by the waves and building sand castles. Once I knew how to swim, water got a new dimension - being able to traverse it and frolic in it - chasing the waves got a whole new dimension.

However, it was not until my fifth decade concluded that I discovered another joy of water floating in it. Previously, I was under the impression that one had to move a bit to be able to stay afloat - maybe paddle a bit with the legs or move the hands alongside the body but to my joy I discovered that one does not need to move at all when one takes on the qualities of a piece of driftwood, that is lies perfectly still and stretched out, neck relaxed and in the water, nose to the sky.

An important aspect of driftwood is that it does not resist - it simply goes where the water carries it, trusting that the direction will be just right. Now for us humans, that is the most difficult quality to obtain - surrendering to the will of the waves. What if I get carried out (that is why, in open seas, never do this exercise during low tide, only during high tide!), what if I get water in my nose, my eyes, my mouth? What if I collide with another swimmer? The worries are oh so much and oh so trivial.