Inner peace through outer struggles
A while ago, I decided to join the local firefighter squad to support their alert and rescue team. This, in addition, has some benefits, one of which is a free season ticket for the outdoor pool, which is only three minutes away from my home. I postponed the application and collection, so on the day when I really wanted to go for a swim, I didn't have the ticket yet.
I still went, and the friendly woman at the counter allowed me to enter for free, but I had to show her my ticket the following day. Likewise, I guess I looked pretty trustworthy with my pink boots and nothing on but swimming pants.
The routine of walking to the swimmer's pool, putting on shoes and bags, and taking a freezing shower remained the same every day. I wasn't a great swimmer, so my first day was about surviving and finding the rhythm.
The friendly woman on the first day, who wanted to see my ticket the following day, was the only reason I went swimming for 10 consecutive days without a day off. Unfortunately, on the following days, the weather got increasingly bad, and it rained non-stop. Although I didn't want to go because of the weather, I couldn't break this woman's trust, so I went to the government building, grabbed my season ticket, and swam in the pouring rain.
Swimming is extremely rewarding because you see improvement very quickly, and after some warm-up time, you find your own pace and rhythm and can swim for long periods without a break. You can see from all the swimmer's bodies that it's a good workout, but swimming is so much more.
Negative thoughts don't really have the power to annoy or influence your mind because whenever the head goes underwater, you just focus on the current stroke and your breathing. Even when there was a big topic in my mind after a few rounds, I found a solution that I directly enforced after coming home. I decided to end a friendship while swimming or stop taking music classes because they became increasingly expensive. Decisions I would usually carry on for days or weeks got solved reliably within a big pool of water after dipping the head underwater several times.
I enjoyed swimming during the rain a lot more, not only because fewer people (sometimes even only me) were in the pool, but the feeling of the cold shower and cold air and water reminded me of ice bathing. After the 10 days, I went on holiday and did not have the option to go for a swim daily. After a few days, I started missing it, so after coming home, I went for a swim again, only to almost drown.
That was quite a big lesson to learn: that after a break, you simply can't go 0 - 100 instantly. It didn't take 5 days, as when I started to find my pace again, but 10 minutes. After these 10 minutes, I regained inner peace while focusing on breathing and technique.
I miss nothing as much as the sauna and ice baths, and while the water temperature might be 20 degrees different, swimming in my local pool has a similar effect of experiencing a clean and focused mind and will for sure help me skip time until I jump into negative water again.
This story has a lot to teach, not only the benefits of swimming for the body and soul but also the impact of one's person trust at the register, which made me come back the following day. Two sentences and a leap of trust might not change your life, but they might also change the next 10 days of someone's journey.
