The Deep End

A happy little musing about an achievement

I swam over to my son today and realised his feet were not touching the bottom of the swimming pool as they normally are. A cautious type, usually he sticks to the sides, refuses to go ‘out of his depth’.

Yet there he was, my child, suspended, treading water. His body was doing the work, holding himself up and there he was, trusting in that. Faith in his own strong muscles, moving under his own steam.

“You’re in the deep end!”

I said beaming, the glow of his accomplishment spreading to me by way of his grin.

All by himself.

His face was so proud.

And it sounds so small, but when anxiety can stop you doing even the slightest thing, making the leap from the security of a solid surface underfoot to having nothing beneath you is a huge achievement.

It’s more than a physical thing.

The first time we swim ‘in the deep end’ requires trusting our own judgement. We make an internal calculation that ‘yes it will be alright’. I guess it’s how a bird feels when he first takes flight.

As I inspected the scene, I noticed there were other children around him. He had been led to this part of the pool because other kids were also ‘out of their depth’. He could see them succeeding, happy and self assured and this had spurred him on to do the same. He had wanted to be where they were and had simply gravitated to their fun. Any fears had taken a back seat.

I think it meant a lot to me because in a few weeks time, I will be faced with a similar dilemma. I want to snorkel in the open sea, something I have never done before. An ocean that holds magical yet also scary things. It felt like the right message at the right time.

The lesson?

When you surround yourself with capability and enthusiasm, you can’t help but grow, overcome, triumph. No forcing, stick nor carrot is required.

As humans, we naturally mimic what is around us. Both smiles and yawns are contagious!

Choose well and keep growing!

Go forth with confidence, surround yourself with joy and skill….…and swim out of your depth!