I love swimming!! If I had it my way, I would spend all day in or around the water.  It makes me feel alive.

As I have said in a previous post, sometimes I feel as if I am part fish.

If I could do one activity every day for the rest of my life and not get bored of it, it would be swimming.  The water is almost as essential as oxygen to my survival.  Maybe that's because I was raised always being near, in, or on the water.

However, despite having so many wonderful times on the water, I have had two near-death experiences on it as well.

I was in Hawaii, on the island of Oahu, over four years ago and went wading in the water on the east side of the island.  There are some amazing beaches on Oahu but you have to be careful as the ocean is so powerful.

Anyway, I was standing on the beach, calf-deep in the water, and the wave pulled me in. It literally made my legs weak and made me fall to the ground.  I was swept off my feet by this wave that looked so innocent and calm.

I was in the wave and underwater for about fifteen seconds. I literally thought I was gone. Here I was a strong swimmer and very comfortable in the water, and I almost drowned. Luckily, I managed to get out of there.  The situation is a blur; I am came out really dizzy and coughed up a bunch of water.

After I rested on the beach for ten minutes or so, I decided to go back to the shallow part to cool off.  I was in just above my ankles, and I thought I would be fine. I mean lightning never strikes in the same place twice, right?  There were others on the beach and they seemed fine with the waves.  What was the likelihood that I would get pulled in again, slim-to-none, right?

Such a senseless idea.

Well, it turns out that I went in and it happened to me AGAIN!!! You think I would have learned my lesson the first time. I got swept off my feet my the wave again.  Seriously, I had great luck.

I was fortunate, and by the Grace of God, lived in both occurrences.

I didnt go back in the water that day and up until that point had been really smart in the water.   The ocean, however, has a mind of it's own and is very powerful and deceiptful.  It may look calm and safe but then it will sweep you off your feet.

I have not stopped swimming since then and have been back to Hawaii a few times since that happened.  It didn't scare me in swimming and I'm fine in pools, lakes, and rivers.  However, I am really cautious when it comes to the ocean. I still go in the ocean but know it's power.

The lesson I learned from this was that obstacles happen everywhere but you have to persist (in my case I'm proceeding with caution).  You can't let fear prevent you from living your life.  Tread safely.  Practice water safety guidelines at all times.

Have to share Dori's philosophy from Finding Nemo as I think it fits perfectly with this post.

Thank you for reading and your presence at this beach retreat. You Rock! I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts in the comment section below.

See you at the beach!