FINS — Brave Tutu

I’m in the water, swimming laps at the pool. Puffing away. I feel pretty good about myself. Pull. Pull. Pull. Breathe. Repeat and flip turn. In the zone, I don’t worry about much else. It’s rhythmic. My swimming sanctuary. Back and forth.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the person in the next lane. I go back to breathing and don’t question it. Pull. Pull. Pull. Breathe. Repeat. Repeat. Flip turn. Rhythm. That same person is back. “How did they get there so fast, I mean…I’m sort of hauling,” I think to myself. In a blink they are past me.

When they smoke me the third time, I lose my momentum.

I turn and completely jolt myself out of a rhythmic trance. Then I see them.

OH FINS!

That was the moment of power. Comparison is usually not a good idea. I don’t recommend it. However, it helped me to see those fins. Earlier, they weren’t obvious and I wasn’t looking for them. The supreme swimmer next to me had mega help.

I was simultaneously relieved to see that there was aid and annoyed with myself for letting the comparison get me out of my groove. I pushed off the wall and went back on my merry way.

If we are honest, most people have some sort of help.

Here is the thing: I often am passed by others. I dove into swim team as a “6 and under” and swam though high school. Speed would not describe my swim team career. Perhaps “most encouraging” or “best at eating goldfish” would be better. I don’t think I ever received “most improved” but every year I hoped for it. I’m definitely a slow and steady tortoise.

That day, however, I felt on top of my game. Before comparison tugged me out of enjoyment, I was confident in my water-charisma—if you will. Anyone relate?

Often, social media is the passing torso in the water. I’ll feel like I am in my stride, loving my life-rhythm and…TUG! Perhaps with a quick newsfeed scan, a “corner of the eye” of unneeded comparison pulls up next to me. I try to remember how much we can’t “see beneath the water” so to speak. The “stories” shared with Snapchat, Instagram etc. are fleeting but can stick with us. Most times these life-insights are cropped-out moments in time, not showing the “fins”. How do we remember this? How do we remind ourselves when we are not even aware that we are absorbing a comparison on “who is passing us” in the other life lane? I’d love your thoughts. Let’s compare *smile* in a good way.

Remember,

Your Brave Tutu (You’re Brave Too-Too)

-Take courage in delight. Discover power in small moments.