Store Your Treasure

I’ve been in the Upper Peninsula with my Mom for a few weeks. It’s been a strengthening time for me to think. I’ve been able to gather up my thoughts about the change in seasons which can sometime be difficult for me. (Depression)

While I write I take the time to look out my mom’s window. The leaves fall and the gray clouds and storms pass through. There are more flocking of birds and less and less sign of tourists.

I definitely rate Fall high. The cool winds have my number. They know I can’t resist their touch. My skin reacts with pleasure when I begin to feel chilled. Pretty much how I feel when I snorkel in the cold waters of Lake Huron. I tell people it’s my drug of choice and I believe it is. It gives me a high like nothing else. It has a long-lasting effect of euphoria on me. 

I pause from writing on my laptop and close my eyes and imagine the cool water surrounding me under water.

Yesterday the rain kept pelting down as soon as I slid into the water.  I knew the rain was coming, Not only from the weather app on my phone but by the thin, dark-gray clouds circling Mackinac Island, moving east from the Straits of Mackinac. Like thin layers of cloth shifting and folding from a consistent wind. 

The sun is dismissed for the day. I’m not one to wait for ideal weather to do something. The water will soon be too frigid to snorkel in and I’m heading for the lake.

Without the sun I have less visibility under-water, but it comes with a magic of its own. A fuzzy, hazy and mysterious cave-place to be. Without rays of light flittering across the bottom like a strobe light, the sight is somewhat creepy in a non-threatening way.

With a full wetsuit it humors me when the rain is trying to force me to run inside for shelter. I smile and even laugh sometimes. I want to shout, “I’m already wet! Bug someone else!”

The beach had an autumn stillness. Few gulls, no people and sheets of rain sizzling on the surface of the water.  When I slid in over the layers of rocks I could see a layer of fog beneath the water-surface created by the pelting rain, like someone was throwing a fistful of tiny stones into the water, the clipping sound was constant, as the rain kept breaking the surface.

I stop breathing through my snorkel often to listen. Under water the sound resonates. I feel like it’s for my ears only.  Unless you count the little gobies clinging to the rocks under water, maybe they’re listening. Actually when I think about it they had Cheshire-Cat-smile on their oversized faces.

Several times I lift my head out of the water to keep an eye on any storms on the horizon. After about an hour of swimming I see a flash of light. I scuttled out of the water. (which isn’t easy with a weight belt and fins to pull off), but being a target of the all-powerful lightening isn’t my idea of any surge I want to experience. 

Small Finds From the Lake

Escaping into the water brings me peace. It feels like a safe place. I don’t feel judged. I’m free to take whatever direction I want. Swim in the shallows or venture deep. The cold sensation makes me feel alive. 

Find a place of serenity. It may be your backyard garden. It may be watching a sunset making time stand still. This place of serenity could come from the speed of riding your bike or solo running. Some find it when they prepare a meal or create something out of wood. Doing puzzles, washing the car, sewing, sailing, digging up weeds…

It’s not important what gives you this natural high. It’s important to see it when it’s in front of you. When it’s engulfing you in its power to calm. I recommend storing this feeling. Find a little box in your brain to put your treasure. It’s yours. No one can take it from you. 

I've been reading The Book of Joy, Lasting Happiness in a Changing World. His Holiness the Dalai Lama and ArchBishop Desmond Tutu with Douglas Abrams.(2016 Avery).  The conversations between the three authors helps me think about what brings me joy and how sharing it with others is part of lasting joy, as is thinking of everyone in the world as human and connected. 

I'm a part of a larger world-self and when I connect inwardly to myself I am healthier and more able to connect to others. I'm still learning to use the skills I've learned to recover from negative states of mind so I can stay connected and not become "Self-absorbed" and lose touch with those around me.  The Dalai Lama calls it the balance between, "Foolish Selfishness" and "Wise Selfishness.

Java Joe's Floor!