Water Baby

I am a water baby, not by definition, but by spirit.  I wasn’t born into the water, though I believe in the benefits of water birth. I did swim before I walked and my first word that I spoke was, “wa-wader”. People either feel comfortable and at home in the water or uncomfortable or downright frightened of the water. I NEED it. I have always been a swimmer and even competed for a time. I have surfed, water-skied, scuba-dived, sailed, rowed, river rafted. You name it, if it’s in the water, I have either done it, or would. I would sail to Tahiti on a cupcake.

I never felt comfortable competing or even counting laps. Swimming is my form of meditation and nourishment for my soul. I feel like I am once again the womb and able to nurture myself maternally as I wasn’t efficiently cared for as a child.  The ocean in particular is a source of energy of a magnitude almost incomprehensible to me, providing me with enlightenment, sustenance, and strength.  Just to be near the source, hearing its rhythmic pulse of the waves is necessary to my soul. To immerse myself in water is submerging my body, my mind and my spirit is going home.

I haven’t truly swum since I have been here. Of course, I have been in the ocean, everyday, several times. I’ve snorkeled, cleansed, surfed and played in the ocean, but I haven’t swum for miles on end. Not a black line to follow like the pools in NYC, but a live coral reef to watch as I swam from one side of the bay to the next. Needless, to say, it was the most extraordinary swim, feeling a part of the underwater world.