As I stand at the shore break of the pacific ocean watching the rise and fall of the open Ocean; I watched the inside section of waves turn from blue to white as the energy echoes a symphony of vibrations. I stand poised to enter the ocean for an open water swim. As a surfer, and free diver my confidence and ability are well aligned for the swim. With nearly 30 years of entering the salty sea as a surfer, my intentions have always revolved around riding waves. At deeper level of thought I had managed to cross a bridge of multi dimensional thinking. I had awakened to a more aware sense of self; devouring the depths of our universal elements with higher levels of creativity; it was in these moments that I decided to enter the sea as a swimmer. The exotic nature of the ocean has many ways of seduction and like an elixir of swaying salt water I was ready to begin my journey. I was at the mermaid trail head with only myself and a diving mask, and a mostly uncharted territory of sea.
As the waves tumble towards the shore I take step after step into the ocean. The labored steps from the weight of water slowed my momentum as the shore break dance of shifting, jumping and bracing through the rolling waves takes me closer to deeper water. At the right depth and timing I jump onto the top of a breaking wave swimming a make shift breast stroke with the seafloor only feet from my swimming body. I have entered a new paradigm; an aquatic temple of another world; a place where the roads are marked by underwater desserts, rocks, and reefs of the shallows that can be navigated by the motion of swimming. One great advantage to being human is the idea that we are a lot like animals that are capable of not only walking on land but also capable of swimming through the ocean. We can with practice become highly adapted to many environments. Humans are very capable. As I swim with the residing current a wave stands up and begins its collapse, In anticipation of the crashing wave I dive. In an instant I become consumed by the underwater world, a quietness to the normal buzz at the surface. The wave releases its energy with a rolling thud and slows my acceleration as the wave passes. I surface for air and continue my swim past the breakers where I will begin my swim parallel to the shore after navigating the shore break obstacle course. My attention has now tuned into the sea.
With my head in the water and peering at the ocean floor I feel the tidal push of the ocean current applying its energy to every part of myself. I begin my swim. My arm stroke and kicking begin to synchronize with my breathing as I peer towards the ocean floor watching the water move underneath me. I feel a separation from the comforts of being on land to the vastness of the ocean. As I swim the water laps against me and begins to tell her story; the further I go and the more i peer into the water the more i begin to understand the wildness of this aquatic wonderland. The shadows of the sea floor initiate a thought about marine life hierarchy and its relentless cycle that I had now entered. There is something alluring about entering the ocean with only a diving mask and your ability to swim; something very freeing and expansive about swimming in giant ocean but also its intricate and mysterious motion that whimsically displays her overpowering self upon me and my traditional thought. My intentions were to accomplish the swim between the lifeguard towers and then back. It was an adventure with a taste of accomplishment that involved some risk, in return it gave me excitement and a sense of feeling good.
As a surfer I have judged the ocean many times by the quality of waves or lack of, its a very one dimensional way of looking at a multidimensional environment, and in my opinion just not fair for the ocean. The ocean provides many paths that can be acquired if you look at it for what it is. The skies the limit when it comes to entering the big blue sea and also very enriching.