A good day to begin?

A lovely rainy swim this morning, in the company of birds, fish and seals, but no other humans. High, turning tide and fast sets of cheeky little waves that smacked if I wasn’t paying attention.  Guided by the stormy skies and lashing rain at 8.30, I wore my sleeveless wetsuit, then wished I hadn’t – the water is warrrrm. 

Contemplated peeling off wetsuit whilst submerged, but didn’t want to watch it be souked away by the outgoing undertow. Swam two thirds of the bay and back, three curious young kittiwakes hovering, dipping, wheeling, silently with me all the way.  Usually they are much more talkative.

Home, and I only realise how cold I am when my feet burn on entry into not-very-hot bathwater. Hot coffee. Hot water bottle on my back. Ahhhhhhhh. Rolo tells me she’s had a tough time defending our territory (from her fleecy bed) while I was off enjoying myself.

~~~

There is no particularly good day to begin a new thing – the 1st of a month or year is often chosen, but why not the 31st? The taking of a new job might herald the start, but why not whilst seeking distraction from the doldrums of limboland? A move to a new place might jolt the creative juices, but the build up of a couple of cycles through the seasons can also provide a tipping point beyond which new ideas spill.

I have been regularly sea swimming since sometime in January several years ago, in what’s become a thrice-weekly ritual of embracing crashing cold seas, stretching limbs through luxuriously silky waters, contemplating endless sky, from endless sea.

I find similarities between open water swimming and writing. They are both concrete ‘doing’ things, which can seem difficult or unattractive from the sleepyhead comfort of bed or sofa. I need resolve, some deep breathing and a calm cool head to begin, a zen state from which to dive in. And then, submerged, the flow takes me, in whatever direction it chooses…

With either (swimming or writing), when the magic happens, it’s unbelievably exhilarating. When magic eludes, there’s still the satisfaction of having done the doing.

You’ll find here a jumble of work, some good, some bad, some unfinished and unedited. Forgive me, silence your inner grammatical critic, and read it anyway (or not!). I’ve blatted all this onto a website so that I can feel it’s there as my springboard into oceans fresh.

Last time I pledged to write regularly, it immediately didn’t happen (a bit like pledging to go on a diet, or take up running) so I won’t make any claims as to how often – or even if ever – I shall write more. Let’s just see….