Soft Landing

Well I think today is the day. The last day. The last day of swimming until next Thursday or Friday. Thanks Marie! I wasn’t sure if I would swim today. I have had 3 great swims in a row and I want to get some work done today (not blog and edit photos) but when I walked my dog Ocean this morning on the bluff, I just could not resist. It looked so calm and inviting and I knew the next several days would have much larger surf than I care for. Also it’s Friday and I have no meetings.

So I leave a little before 8:00 and when I get to the beach, it is just beautiful and a fair amount sand is on the beach. This is great and all - the additional sand, but I feel like it’s just all going to get blasted away by the incoming tropical swell. The forecast has eased in intensity over the past few days, but it’s still going to be big surf for sure. Well, big surf comes and big surf goes - just like the sand. BUT TODAY we have sand, and it is good, and lucky for me it just so happens that today is the day that I am here.

Regardless of this sand, the edge of the water, like it has been all week, is pretty cobbly and the steep slope makes for this pattern where all the water gets sucked up as new break water approaches so that when the water actually meets the bare sand, it is a 4 feet wall of whitewater which makes the initial entry pretty rough if you do not time it just right. I’m not doing a very good job of timing it. One of these walls knocks me backwards and pushes me on my ass back up the beach. This is frustrating, humorous, and embarrassing all at the same time.

I do manage to finally get into the water and I’m off swimming north. I think I am well past the surf when a “real” wave breaks right in front of me. It’s the first one I have encountered in a few days. I dive and push through the light turbulence. I swim just a little further west and then resume my journey north.

This is one of those swims where nothing special happens, but the entire swim is just some kind of cosmic celebration of specialness. The water is smooth on the way towards the Monarch Bay Beach Club. After I pass the Ritz and head into Salt Creek, the water is relatively clear. I can at least see a hint of the ocean floor. Every once in a while, I look up and stare at the beach ahead of me in front of the beach club. The sand glows and the golf course is beautifully green. I sit in this eternally expansive body of water. The vibes here run high. I feel so good.

I try to see what happens if I do not actively try to create new thoughts but just watch what arises in my mind. I watch fond memories of my childhood spent on this beach. I peer into foreshadowings of what my future might become. My mind rests on my lover Tracey and just how fortunate I feel to be with her and is it possible to come even close to give her what she has given me. I want to do good here. I want to cocreate with her a life that we both deserve. I am excited because I actually believe this is possible. It is more than possible. It is actually happening now. My heart feels full.

The swim back is a little more bumpy and I see more “real” waves as I pass the main break in front of the Ritz. This entire swim passes so quickly. I feel like I am in a sort of state of bliss. I think of the fact that I considered not swimming and I am so glad I swam instead. Every stroke and every kick is a gift. I get out of the water and it feels like an incredibly soft landing on actual sand. I drive the two minute drive back to my home. I get out of my car. I walk through my door and all I can think is that life is so good.