I've already admitted that I don't know how to swim, but would you believe me if I said I don't even know how to float? I understand the mechanics behind it, I do. Legs up, arms out, lie back, but I haven't been brave enough to let go and leave the waters to their job. I'm scared that the laws of physics won't apply to me and that I'll fall under if I dare to leave the shore behind. I imagine the waves knocking me over and the undertow pulling me beneath the surface, me gasping for the air just out of reach while the current sweeps me away.
But then here's the thing: in order to float, you must trust in the process - completely. Without trust, you'll never let the sea float you above the rolling waves or enjoy the ride with all its ebbs and flows knowing that your head will always remain above the water.
Image: flickr.com
yet another thing we have in common, dorkys. i don't know how to swim -- properly, that is. shame on me who grew up in an island. *sigh* but i do know how to float or backfloat, and maybe dog-paddle.
ReplyDeletemaybe we should make this our 2013 goal. are you in? :)
If you just allow yourself to go for it floating can be one of the most relaxing things out there! Have some one close to you hold you up in the water with both their arms under you and go from there.
ReplyDeleteYou are so slim and that works against you when it comes to floating - "fatties" float without trying... but with a lung full of air and some practice you can do it!! You might try one of those foamy pool stick things at first - until you get comfortable and confident.
ReplyDelete:)
Sounds like a metaphor to me....
ReplyDeleteodessa, I grew up on an island, too! Granted Manhattan doesn't really count as the waters around here aren't exactly as inviting as the ones in the Caribbean. I don't even know if my own parents know how to swim (they were born in the Dominican Republic). I'm totally in for learning how by 2013. At the very least I want to know how to keep my head above water so I can walk out a bit farther at the beach.
ReplyDeletecheryl, yeah, I have trust issues, but I really do want to experience floating around lazily at the pool or beach. Everyone else seems to enjoy it. Meanwhile I'm clinging onto the side of the pool or onto A.'s neck for dear life.
intense guy, what if I eat a couple quarter pounders before jumping in?
tooje, THANK YOU for getting it. Yes, it very much is. I really don't know how to float...and I also don't know how to completely trust the process and the fact that I will stay afloat no matter what waves - big or small - may come my way. So I firmly cling onto what I know, not because it's so much safer, but because it's familiar and I don't know what could come if I throw myself out there.
I can swim, but I don't know how to; the way I see it, if I stay above water (my head anyway) and move forward, I'm swimming. Apparently what I'm doing looks nothing like swimming, but it does the trick; I move forward, and my head stays above water, so I'm happy with it. ;)
ReplyDeleteTook me ages to learn how to trust the floating process; I had a fear of water as a child for some unknown reason - it's just always been that way - so it was hard for me to trust it and let go of my fear. Luckily I had a nice - and very patient - teacher who helped me through it; my swim teacher at school. He gave me enough confidence that - though, as I said, I can't swim properly - I even still love the water after almost drowning a couple of times (not related to floating; once was a genuine accident, the other two were my brother checking to see if I could hold my breath under water, which I can't do).
*Hugs*... Because it sounds to me like you could use some for some reason!
The other thing to remember about floating, especially if you want to try it in a calm pool before experiencing it in the ocean, is that salt water helps you float. In a pool of fresh water, you very well may sink. But in the ocean, with salt water? That might be where you find you really can float.
ReplyDelete