SLOW WALKING
“He who hesitates is lost.” (Joseph Addison)
Interestingly, I learned via the internet that the above meme is actually an adaptation of a line from Addison’s 1712 play “Cato: a Tragedy”, in which Marcia, the daughter of Roman Senator Cato the Younger exclaims “The woman who deliberates is lost”. The internet then adds: “Success comes from action; those who delay may not succeed.”
Other common expressions reinforce this notion: “the early bird gets the worm”; “first come first served”; and my mom’s old favorite: “do something, even if it’s wrong!”
Well, this week’s slogan has been about doing the opposite of these snappy suggestions. In sum, it’s, “do nothing, even if its crazy-making”. By doctor’s orders I’ve been told to sit and rest my recently PRP-injected hip. Platelet rich plasma injection is a new-to-me medical procedure that I’m not qualified to elaborate on, except to say it has shown positive results in patients with physical issues similar to mine, aka a gimpy hip.
But that’s not what this blog is about. It’s about doing next to nothing. And living to tell the tale.
As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, I’ve swum an average of a kilometer a day since the beginning of May. I calculated that, prior to my hiatus, I’d swum in excess of 147,000 meters. (In kilometers it’s not quite so impressive.) I couldn’t have told you, prior to this week of inactivity, just how important this habit has been to my physical health and mental stability. Combined with a decades-long mantra practice, these two daily routines have been central to the “me” you see. A me who aims for congruence in whatever I think and feel, say and do. No subterfuge. So if you’d asked me this morning how I was doing, and I’d replied “fine”, I’d have been lying. The reality that much of my well-being is predicated on keeping to certain wellness routines is sobering.
Yes, like mantra, swimming is good for mind and body. Especially cold water immersion. There’s all sorts of literature on it. Just ask anyone in the hot tub. Or the ocean, if you can talk and swim, though I don’t recommend it. But what does one do when such outlets are not on offer? My remedy was to dive back into the kitchen, much as I did during the closed-in chapters of COVID. I’m still trying to lose those last few pounds.
That’s what I thought the swimming was about. Peeling off unwanted blubber. But it was about so much more than that. As my hip issue gradually took away biking, hiking, pickleball and walking options, swimming became my lifeline. It was a daily wakeup call of the “dose-of-cold-water” kind. It meant having something on my dance card every day. Sometimes twice in the hot summer months. It meant hot-tub-talks and chai tea breaks filled with informative tidbits: what layers to wear as the water temperature drops, what concoction to put in the thermos to warm one’s core. Our WhatsApp chats vary from the sublime to the ridiculous, but always there is something going on, some way to belong.
So what have I really been missing in a week away from my swim routine? With some deliberation (no offense, Marcia), I dialed it down to this: I thrive on a combination of camaraderie, of shared interests and a sense belonging. These are all transferable qualities. Taking swimming out of the equation meant learning to connect in other ways. Cooking Thanksgiving dinner for twelve on a moment’s notice. (Also a master stroke of delegation.) Going to a hockey tournament in Coquitlam. (My team won!) Slow-walking my way to the local coffee shop and chatting with other patrons. Getting out a 1000 piece puzzle and my Whistler Pique crosswords that have languished in a drawer. I even cleaned out the dryer vents!
Having exhausted the latter options, I finally emailed a plea to my orthopedist, claiming that my sanity depended on my getting back in the water. I wish I was exaggerating. When she called (imagine, a specialist who phones!) to give me the green light, I was ecstatic. But also aware that I could lose my mobility, or be quarantined or isolated again, and grateful for this takeaway:
Always find ways to engage with life, with others of like-or-unlike mind; cultivate community, connection and belonging. Just. Do. Something. Even if it’s wrong!