I left the house at about 9:45 today. It has been beautiful and warm all morning. I’m really looking forward to this swim. On the one hand I am mentally prepared for cold water this morning. Sunday was the coldest since April and perhaps the coldest Summer water I have swam in yet since I started swimming over 2 years ago. However, I’d be willing to bet it is going to be warmer today. We have had warm weather and lighter on shore winds the past couple of days. Also, from the web cams the water looks much clearer. I have this theory which may be totally bogus. I have often noticed that churning water is colder than clear water. Last weekend, for example, the water was very cloudy and on a couple occasions, I would encounter a sort of clearing in the water along with significantly warmer temperatures. So I don’t know…maybe now with more still, clear water, the temperature will rise?

I arrive at the parking lot and everything about this place is inviting. It is bright, sunny, clear, and the water surface looks smooth.

As I walk down the stairs, the sun feels super nice.

I get to the sand and the water looks clear. Not much surf today. I hear hurricane Howard is on it’s way and due to peak this weekend but it is not expected to pack quite the punch that Frank delivered last week.

I get my feet wet and things do indeed feel warmer than last weekend.

I begin to walk into the water and dive in to start swimming. I open my eyes and something is not right. Ooops, I forgot to put my goggles on.

Oh man this is good. It is amazing to me how much warmer the water is right now from just 72 hours ago. It has got to be at least 10 degrees warmer. It is extremely comfortable. I feel like I am missing my inflatable raft and MaiTai. I’m not a huge MaiTai fan but I suppose an umbrella in a glass of wine would do just fine.

As I swim South I am focusing on just how good it feels to be in this water. I’ve been thinking about these passages I was reading in the bible yesterday. I was reading 1 John and he talks a lot about discerning good from evil and mentions that you can know someone is a false prophet by whether or not they confess Jesus.

This is another one of those passages that boggle me. On the one hand I just don’t believe that only Jesus professing people hold the keys to salvation or spiritual truth. However there are many in the Christian faith who do think this and are not shy about it. When I think of a universe where the truth is bound to the shapes, symbols and words of our western born belief system, its not a universe I feel good about.

It is interesting to me that probably just a half a century ago, it was easy to think this way. Most Americans had little to no first hand exposure to other religious belief systems and were completely unfamiliar to what these beliefs included. Much was left to one’s imagination. If one had a “spiritual feeling” or a sense that we are a part of something greater than ourselves, most would naturally resort to the symbols of the Christian faith that surrounds us. Most would likely not entertain meditation or any Eastern philosophy simply because they did not have access to that knowledge.

Today things are totally different especially with the existence of the internet. We are surrounded by different belief systems. It is easier to get to know others that grew up in different faiths or adopted new ones. Many of these individuals are smart, caring and may confess of a life transformed by their “non-Christian” beliefs. Yet a literal reading of 1 John 4 gives many the conviction that when it comes right down to it, only if you confess Jesus are you on the right path.

The main reason why I am thinking about all of this is that as I swim here in this beautiful water on this beautiful day, I feel a goodness and a Mercy and a Love that reminds me of how I felt when I read 1 John yesterday. How is it that I completely disagree with the “letter” of this text but resonate deeply with it’s spirit? There is something in that text and the spirit of Jesus that has me totally seduced and as I swim in this lovely warm water, I contemplate the name of Jesus.

When I think of how much smaller our world was 50 years ago, I imagine how it would be even smaller in a Christian community during the first century of the common era. There were absolutely varied beliefs but they were extremely localized. Some of these beliefs may have been limiting and made God feel very far away. I can understand the importance to this community that one embrace these symbols that give them intimacy with the divine.

I think of this and I just try to process what I feel inside of me when I think of Jesus and how I also feel such fondness for the rich variety of religious and philosophical expressions we coexist with. I wrestle with how one honors and and walks predominately in a single tradition while acknowledging the truth and beauty that is in others. How do we bend these views that often seem to be so opposed to one another and seem to be inextricably bound to specific beliefs that negate the other?

So this is my swim today - feeling and enjoying this water that makes me think of Jesus that makes me think of the truth that flows over, around and through our disparate beliefs, words and symbols.

Oh, and as I pass by the lifeguard station on my way to the parking lot, the posted water temperature is 70 - 72 degrees. That’s what I’m talking about!