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| Do this. It rocks. |
What builds muscle mass and improves endurance? What protects us from joint stress and strain? What helps alleviate arthritis? What improves cardio-respiratory fitness and burns calories almost as efficiently as cycling? What works almost all our muscles? What is effective when we're old or injured? What cools the body (and the mind)?
Ice cream (especially root-beer floats).
I wish. Actually, if you were thinking eating of any kind (instead of swimming), sadly
that is incorrect, but I like the way you think.
This year, one of the hottest I can recall, I have gone
swimming in
a. a
pool.
b. the
ocean.
c. with
a bear, literally (thankful he kept to his own side of the river and left
fairly quickly).
d. in
that shimmery-shade-of-sugary-blue glacial water.
This was weird. I seldom swim. For me, clothing is rarely
optional and water and I haven’t always been in a trustworthy relationship. Yet,
in that water whether it was salty or freezing or a little too populated, I
couldn’t help but unwind. And it made me wonder:
1. Maybe
flying is actually floating.
2. Maybe
swimming washes away more than we realize.
3. Maybe
swimming resets perspective.
4. Where
else can you pee your pants in public?
5. Maybe
swimming makes us young again.
6. Maybe
it’s impossible to be unhappy in the water.
“For whatever we lose (like a you or a me), it’s always
our self we find in the sea.” –e.e. cummings
Go swim.
