I had a wonderful day yesterday. Went to a beach and saw a guy swimming. It was about 25 or 30 and pretty windy, although it was sunny and clear. The sea was calm on the surface, but there were large swells, making big and beautiful waves on shore. He went in out of he water 3 or 4 times until he got out and put his clothes back on. We walked past him as he got back in his car and my friend asked him if he did that often. He said he went in about once a month, year round. That February was the coldest month. Then he added, with a smile and enthusiasm, “But it’s such a beautiful day…..” We agreed.
I thought it was not something I could ever do…dressed in a turtleneck, sweatshirt, and winter coat, I was shivering. My friend thought it was possible, he could see how someone could do it. It’s all in the perception I think. Perception can be changed, too.
That’s something else I learned this weekend. Though my blog is called “Living Like Water” I was not walking that walk this weekend. It was quite obvious that I have some work to do there. My perception of what was going on was shadowed by my ego, by my past experience, baggage as it was. My perception of some of the things I have written here, also has been clouded by these things. I learned some things that changed my perception of the broader effects of some things I have written.
If I want to be authentic in my quest to live like water, I think my perception has to change about many things. Perhaps seeing someone willing to plunge into ice cold water and come out of it smiling was meant to show me that life doesn’t have to proceed along my own narrow view.
Learning is sometimes a pleasant experience, and sometimes it is difficult. What I dislike is when my learning a lesson has caused someone else discomfort, which it has. And I feel blessed that it didn’t cause this person to run from me. Yesterday was wonderful….and the learning was a pleasant experience, even if the actual lesson I learned made me take a hard cold look at myself.
learningtolivelikewaterblog.com 
This makes me jealous of that guy! Please give me his contact information. I need to take lessons from that blow hard.
Are you kidding me? He got you to believe he could do the ice cold swim thing, because it was only a matter of perception! WTF And then gets you to believe he was so wonderful by making a bull shit comment that you needed to change your perception of him.
He is good. I idolize that stupid little shit. Please helpme. Hook me up.
I want someone to love me so much that when I spew crap like that, they look at me with a love and blindness in their eyes, instead of contempt and discust.
Really, I think you’re way more perceptive than either he or I was at this time. Reality set in, I saw the entire situation for the manipulation it always was. And I bet if you look closely, you’ll see someone looking at you with love and affection because you seem to be a very reality based person and willing to be vulnerable, a rare combination.