Falling into the Water

I left the house early today at 6:15. It was just past dawn and after parking at the Strand I head for a 6.75 mile run to the harbor and back. It is a very nice morning. There are clear skies and some clouds out on the western horizon. It is cold. In the upper 40s - so not super cold.

I finish up the run and am back at my truck at about 7:40. I change into my swim trunks and head to the beach. I get there just about at high tide. It is a 4.8 which I would not at all call deep but given the low level of the sand, the water comes all the way to the rocks as the waves come to shore.

I spend a few minutes talking with a couple other swimmers. One says that he has been coming here 40 years and has never seen the sand this low as it has been this year.

I walk up the beach a ways to my usual spot through the water. I step up on the rocks against the bluff and pack my shirt and then toss my pack up to a place where I feel confident it won’t get wet.

I walk to the water. Not much walking required today. I just need to take a couple steps to the initial dip in the sand where the waves are breaking onto the shore. I step down, put my goggles over my eyes, take a quick picture of the horizon and then lean in and fall into the water to swim.

Isn’t this how we live our lives from day to day? We lean in and fall into the water. What other way is there really? Every day is another stroke forward. The water is all around us. We have no choice if the waves are large or the water is cold. We fall into whatever is given. Some days we may just want to turn around and walk back to shore. Some days we do, but eventually we need to swim to live out our lives.

As I hit the water, I can see the rocks beneath me. It is nearly effortless today to get past the surf. The tide is so high the the surf is upstaged by the water. I don’t think I come across one breaking wave as I head out to sea.

I veer south. The sun is just coming over the bluff and I can barely see the houses to my east without getting blinded by the sun. Every breath is a glimpse into a blinding light. I try to direct my gaze to the north of the beach and avoid this light.

The water feels good. Like most Sundays when I begin with a run, my body heat is amplified and that gives the cold water a refreshing quality.

The water is not clear today and is in fact a bit on the brownish side. It feels like a red tide type of situation which is totally typical for this time of year.

I eventually reach my southern destination and then turn around to head north. This refreshing feeling turns to cold. I notice the cold and then I notice these thoughts of doom and gloom overtake me and then I choose to relax and concentrate on the cold in a matter of fact sort of way and amazingly the cold subsides.

This becomes a repeating pattern - relax into a more benign cold, then become fearful of a cold that wants to consume me and then relax again into the cold as it is, find solace in what is here now as opposed to what is in my thoughts and repeat.

I eventually find myself at the northern bathrooms and it is time to turn around for the final push. It’s just a beautiful and peaceful morning. I wonder a little about how the final landing into shore will be. The tide should be coming down now but it has only been an hour. The swell is pretty calm today. When the time comes, the swim to shore is actually much easier today than it has been. With the higher tide, I don’t have to deal with the shallow boulder field because it is not shallow at all. I just swim right over them and then I’m basically at the shore by the time I am ready to touch my feet to the ocean floor.

I grab my pack and instead of toweling off right here like I normally do, I walk up the initial section of the asphalt to the bathrooms at the base of the stairs. I use the shower here to rinse off the salt water and then dry off and put on a sweatshirt before climbing the rest of the stairs.

When I get to my truck I change into my normal clothes and then I order my Starbucks and head off to get my order and then drive to Laguna for church.

This is a pretty perfect start of the day.