Moving Boundaries

 

Tidal pools are the most wonderful places along the cape shoreline.

A wall protects the pool from the sometimes-violent waves. At high tide it fills up with fresh water.

It creates a safe space in which I can experience the action of the sea without too much danger.

In a way it acts like a filter keeping the strongest movements and currents out of the pool but still allowing enough movement to float and bob around.

This kind of wall however is static. It always acts and filters out and breaks the highs and lows of the Ocean.

In our mind we have a multitude of filters. They are made up from our conditioning, both inherited and learned. Conditionings are useful protection devices to help us survive and navigate through life.

Lately I have started to swim in the open water at Backoven in Camps Bay.

It is remarkably interesting that in this environment I must set my own boundaries:

How long is it safe to stay in the cold water? What are the currents and how strong am I? How far can I go out? Can I cope with the wave action and what is my survival strategy, can I hold on to something should I need to? Is someone around to help if I get into trouble?

I must constantly monitor and set my boundaries and as my adaptation and fitness increases, I can move them and expand the range of my experience in the water.

Swimming in the sea, in the tidal pool and in the open water are a metaphor for navigating life.

Feeling fully alive by constantly expanding the range of experiences requires to question and if necessary, to step out of my conditioning, which was helpful in the past, consciously.