Forever and Always

I’m off to the beach at 10:45 this morning. I’m hoping to swim today and tomorrow before Wednesday’s storm rolls in that might last through Friday, which would mean no swim until next week. Well maybe Sunday if Friday is rain free.

The water is not as smooth today but it’s not too bad. Looks like I just need to be ready for some bumps on the surface and water in the face. The clouds are a little more ominous too. Less of the wispy stuff and more fully formed clouds which I actually like. However, in spite of a little wind and less than sunny skies, conditions are good. Surf is still small, it is 58 degrees outside and the buoys are all reporting the same water temps that they have been recording for the last week. So I know it will be cold but well within my limits.

As I descend Palisades Road to Coast Highway, the ocean looks dark thanks to the clouds above. However there is just enough open sky to let the sun shine on scattered parts of the surface and light them up super bright creating these extreme contrasts between dark and electrified tones.

I park at The Strand and head down the stairs. There is a south breeze blowing and I can see the palm fronds swaying. I do my usual breath focusing meditation all the way to the beach. I see something on the water’s surface when I get to the asphalt. I don’t have my glasses on and I’m wondering if it is Dolphin fins. Then I realize it is a pair or trio of Pelicans lounging on the water.

Tide is pretty low and the clouds mix with open sky to create quite the lovely and rather dramatic picture. It’s a good day to be at the beach just like pretty much all of the other days here. I put my feet in the water and suddenly have an idea to create a pre-swim video. It’s funny that I shoot all of these pictures with a device primarily made to shoot video. I clearly need to adjust some settings because the videos automatically stop after 30 seconds and imprint an annoying watermark at the bottom. Well we will just see how those videos turn out.

I get in the water just as some Pelicans are hovering over the surface in front of me but they are too far away to really capture. I walk out past the small surf and start swimming. As far as temperature goes, it feels the exact same as yesterday. However for some reason I manage to retain the feeling in all fingers throughout the entire swim today unlike yesterday.

I definitely feel like I am working against the current but it is not all that strong. It’s so great to be here. I feel good and I feel everything. I am aware of my entire body. I feel like one of those little mechanical swimming figures that you can wind up in the bath tub. I’m all wound up and my arms and legs just seem to do their thing all on their own.

I watch the big dramatic clouds just over the bluff. At times I can sense that I am swimming from underneath clear sky right into the heavy cloud cover. The light dims sharply and quickly as if some kind of large air craft is flying overhead of me. I try to empty my mind of any notion of the future. I prepare myself to swim forever. Right now, right here, this is who I am forever and always.

I get to the south end and the surface is all bouncy. There are waves breaking just southeast of me. Large flocks of Pelicans are flying high above just over the headlands. The tide is low enough to expose the rocks at the end of the point like a mini archipelago. I look north and wait for the surface to calm itself enough so that I can find the lifeguard tower that sits about a mile ahead. Got it. Target locked and I program my inner auto pilot to head right for it.

The wind is now coming from behind and things go more smooth and more fast. I seem to get to the other end of the beach in no time at all. The light sways back and forth from full bold glare to dark and ominous. As I watch the horizon, I can see the cracks in the clouds glow almost pink. Trees of kelp pass underneath me one after another after another.

The cold grows stronger. I focus my attention on it and try to head right into it. It’s like a wild animal and if I run away it will chase me and hunt me down. If I can exercise stealth and camouflage myself into its own habitat, it leaves me alone and even treat me like one of its own.

The swim comes to an end. It feels like I am still a good ways out but I feel my hands brush the sandy bottom. So I stand myself up in knee deep water. This world around me is spectacular. The light and clouds dance together to the melody of the ocean.