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| Diani Beach |
Spent an all too short 24 hours in a beach town called Diani this past weekend. 2 matatus and 45 minutes from Mombasa, Diani offers serene beaches practically void of the infamous "beach boys" that plague Mombasa and Malindi. Beach go-ers are welcomed by soft, white sand and an ocean with gentle waves and water that feels more like bathwater in terms of its warm temperature. If I may describe it in better terms, it was Amina's heaven. Let me explain...
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| Lake Otsego, Cooperstown, NY |
My parents joke that I wasn't born in the normal way, but rather I was hatched like a fish. Practically from the moment I was able to walk, my parents had me frequenting the local pool and Lake Otsego. There is actually a 1983 newspaper clipping from our local paper,
the Daily Star, which features on its front page a shot of my parents and I in the pool! I was 2-years old. Kindergarten saw me enrolled in my first swimming lessons and hitting the beach every day during summer vaca with my younger brother and girlfriends. By high school I was near water constantly, either for pure enjoyment, competition, training or as a life guard at 3-mile Point. Swimming serves not only as a means to have fun with friends, but also a great source of joint-friendly exercise. For me, it is also a source of meditation of sorts. I can swim for an hour plus doing lap after lap without stopping because I am lost in thought. When I finally drag my chlorine or salt-saturated body out of the water, I'm exhausted, yes, but the feeling of having literally been FLOATING for the past hour is simply amazing. When I swim I feel like I am weightless. I feel like I'm flying.
lucky are those whom are gifted with swimming, then again, not everyone had the chance to learn how to from an early age. others have mortal fear of large masses of water, fear having originated from their childhood after previous bad experiences.
ReplyDeleteA quote for you, dear follower, from one of my most favorite pieces of literature:
ReplyDelete"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."
In other words, though it is critical that we recognize and respect our fears, we mustn't let them over power us or keep us from enjoying life to the fullest. Often times it is merely a matter of taking that first terrifying step towards our fears that makes us realize our fears are not all that terrifying after all.