Josephsensei, 54

First cosmic awakenings to the Divinity of Water as a youngster both irresistably attracted to - as well as challenged by - the immense power & glory of the crashing ocean surf, burying himself in it for hours at a time, when an observant swimming coach noticed me & told my mother, 'He's a natural swimmer - but he's afraid of the water,' put a mask on me, & proceeded to exorcise the 'Bogeyman of the Deep.'

Many summers at a New Hampshire overnight camp brought me to a lifetime of lake swimming, where I absorbed the dynamics of a gracefu & effortless stroke from keenly observing the swimming style of the owner, who was a magnificent swimmer but an abysmal tealcher. Instead, I sat, mentally taking notes on every aspect of his form - the head, shoulders, arms, back, legs, etc., until I had internalized every move, breath, stroke, kick, and could, secretly at first and on my own, fully embody his effortless style in my own crawl, thereby finally achieving my youthful dream to be able to 'swim forever' without tiring.

And so it has remained all these decades later, when, during the season, I will regularly & just as easily 'make love to the water' 1 to 3 miles at a stretch, without the slightest noticeable exertion, feeling, at the end, as if I could easily do it all again were there enough life & time.

Swimming is baptism, swimming is holy, swimming is life & breath, relaxation and invigoration, emotional peace & spiritual exhilharation.

Swimming is communion with the Universe in fluid form.

Come, then, & risk a swim together!