Zen

I have said many times that I would rather swim a mile than run a mile.  I do not like running.  I have too many moving pieces to enjoy running, thanks.  I have heard that eventually you space out enough that you relax in a way, that while you work out somehow you're disconnected from your body in good ways.  Yeah, I cannot get much past the pain in my chest, feet, back, etc.  

However, I can do that in swimming.  My mind is wandering off in different directions as I make it down to the other end again.  I can pick a few things I want to focus on as far as working on my stroke, but I think more about which lap I'm on, arguing whether it was the twelfth or thirteenth, until I need to worry about whether it was the thirteenth or fourteenth.  I spend enough time arguing with myself that I'm the right kind of distracted and still making good time.  

What I think I like most is that I can carry that feeling with me for the next couple of hours outside of swimming my laps.  Part of it is knowing that I did something good for myself, certainly, but that right kind of detached calm, I find that it makes the exercise feel worth it for longer than I was expecting.  

There are other things that illicit that kind of calm for me.  I have my desktop at work set to pictures of the Aurora.  When I catch a glimpse of that, I take a deep breath involuntarily and feel a similar wave of peace.  

I can remember having a conversation with a friend of mine once about how different people can connect better to different environments.  My father and I, there's something about water that touches us.  Something about sailing with the wind and the water together soothes my soul and mind in a very unique way that I know I need once in a while.  My friend pulls energy from desert environments and has since moved to New Mexico.  I know a  few people that find it in the trees and some others that love mountains.  Some of that is how you connect to nature, and it is different for different people.  Either way, I would argue that the sense of calm and peace is the same.  

The real trick is learning how to bring it with you.  I can cheat a bit by going swimming, mixing that zen from water and the exercise high together, which is more successful some days than others.  But how can I take it with me when I'm not in a comparable space?  

I haven't figured out how to do it all of the time, yet, but I think collectively we could use a little more of it, particularly as the full flurry of the season begins to settle upon us.  I find those moments of calm wherever I can--I've got a feeling that I'm going to need it, for reasons I'm not even completely sure of yet.  I would encourage anyone to take a moment of self reflection to learn how to reach that space, if you're not sure how to find it, and otherwise exercise taking that kind of zen with you.  Find your peace and hold onto it.