Against the Current

I've been walking laps at the track four nights a week while Duncan attends his many choral practices.  It's indoors and warm and open until 8pm.  There aren't many other options for me to do in town.  The library isn't open until 8 every night and I can only wander the small grocery store for so long before they'll start expecting to me stock the shelves or sweep.

Anyway.  On Wednesday evenings, everyone is in town and while we wait for the big boys to be finished with activities, we head to the rec center.  Patrick has been taking the boys swimming while I walk my laps.  The track overlooks the pool for a section and I wave.  They have the pool to themselves.  After many weeks, the lifeguard knows them by name and automatically turns on the water slide and water features for them.  The little boys had been asking me to swim with them.  I remembered my swimsuit the next week and off we went.

After a few minutes of playing... I noticed that the lazy river had a sign.

"28 laps = 1 mile"

hmmm.

I mulled a few minutes.  Then I headed to the lazy river.  "I'll just walk the one mile, then I'll be back to play."

After 3 laps, I decided I'd increase the difficulty level and turned around to walk against the current. 

It was decidedly more difficult.  At times I was pushing my entire body into the current and lifting my legs and I wasn't sure if I had even progressed an inch.  Sometimes I know that I actually lost ground and ended up going backwards.  I found myself using my arms to help propel myself into the current.  My breathing was laboured.  When I made it all the way around I was tired.  But, 28 laps = 1 mile.  So I continued. I had set a goal.

At lap 10, I paused to catch my breath.  Patrick and the boys came over.  They offered to join me.  The boys in their inner tubes simply floated away.  Patrick tried walking in front of me to ease the current but instead he found himself falling over and then an even stronger current hit me.

He's taller so more of him was out of the water than in and the resistance against the current was tough to walk against without putting all your body against it.  It wasn't much fun.  Even when he tried to walk on his knees... it really knocked him over then and then I was walking against the current and against a floating Patrick.  I told him thanks, but no thanks.  I kept inching along.

After 20 laps I decided that I was exhausted and it was taking forever and that while 28 laps = 1 mile, walking a mile against the current at one inch at a time was perhaps more workout than I had bargained for.

So as I completed that lap, I turned around.  I began to walk with the current.

OW!!!  OW!, ow, ow ow... ouch!!!

My feet hurt.  Walking with the current was vastly easier and I could go almost two feet with each step.. with each agonizingly painful step.  I paused and lifted my foot.  The entire ball of my foot was a blister and on one foot the blister had already scraped off and had exposed some very tender skin. 

I had not even noticed the pain as I was putting all my energy into walking against the current.  I was just having a great time knowing that I was working hard and exercising.  Now looking back ... it wasn't such a great time... and the workout had come at a high price. 

I'm a glutton for punishment it would seem since once Patrick saw my feet he asked why I was still walking. "I haven't completed 28 laps yet."

"The sign is just information.. you don't have to do 28 laps.  And your feet hurt!"

I tried walking on only my heels and then I fell over... What happened next was amazing.. Okay not amazing at all... should have been obvious but when you get caught up in your own way of thinking, you forget to rely on what is right in front of you sometimes.  It's a lazy river!  When I fell over, I lifted up my feet... and ...

I floated. 

I completed the last 7 laps floating along on my back.  My feet didn't endure any more abuse, I was lifted and carried by the same current that had caused me such difficulties earlier... I used my arms to guide me so that I didn't hit the walls during the curves, but it was almost effortless. 

Moral:
When walking against the current... wear water shoes and know when to float.


What we think is good and will make us happy, often has disastrous consequences... and we often don't realize the hurt we are causing ourselves until we remove ourselves from the situation and can see more clearly.  We also sometimes have to learn things for ourselves even when loved ones around us can see clearly that we are hurting ourselves and even advise us against doing those things that will continue to hurt us.  Remember that there is a path of ease set ahead of us that although we sometimes feel is restricting is actually freeing and can lift and carry us when we are hurt and have nothing less in us to give.