Something unprecedented happened this morning. When I got to the pool at 5:30, there was no one in the medium or fast lanes. So the five of us there that usually swim in the slow lane fanned out across all five lanes. For my entire 35 minutes of laps, I had a lane completely to myself. It was such a luxury to swim with early morning sun filtering down through the blue, having an oasis of solitude, not having to slow down or speed up to accomodate anyone else.
That got me thinking, while I swam, how I had actually learned a lot from swimming in the slow lane—not just about practicing my strokes but about practicing at being with other people: allowing them to go at their own pace without it disrupting mine, not chafing at having to accomodate for differences in individual needs or personality, sharing space without resenting it by having flexible but appropriate boundaries. Not to mention that I've developed personally from the drive required to learn a new discipline and become proficient. And yes, I need my alone time to contemplate, to focus, to renew; but I also need to be around other people to learn, to recharge, to grow.
Who knew swimming at the public pool could be a step on the path to enlightenment?
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1 comment:
i love your ponderings as you swim. very cook, katie.
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