There is a modern concept that exists in the world, that of the red mind. It speaks of the fears, anxieties, and over-stimulation we feel in our day to day lives. It refers to all the emails, phone calls, texts, and meetings we have to take care of. The world though, does have an opposite concept as well, that of the blue mind.
It speaks of the calm we feel drift over us as we near and become a part of rivers, lakes oceans, and pools. The almost meditative state we are automatically brought closer to, as we approach or are washed over by water.
For most, there are many other ways to achieve a blue mind, but for me, there is no replacement for a blue mind other than water. While there is definitely a lot of research that has gone into the benefits water can have on an individual, for me, it has always been a given. Even before the red mind became my every day, the water has always been my blue.
Growing up, nobody (not even my mom) truly understood how I learned to swim. Sure, we went to the mommy and me classes, but the point at which the water and I became best friends is still unknown to me. I made my way into swimming, and went from the runt of the class, to heading teams and eventually establishing a shift from being underwater as a sport to it becoming my happy place.
As an energy-filled, quick thinking individual I slowly learned that the water is a medium not only for movement but for thought as well. It became my thinking chair so to speak. In a weird sense, it was like on land my thoughts could escape my brain through the air, not allowing me to process them clearly, but the water held them in. The water gave me clarity, time to really understand what was already inside my brain, and not have this never-ending flow of in-and-out disturb it.
In most competitions, people speak of how they stop feeling time as they race, and while I have felt that exact feeling while competing, the water has been able to do that for me regardless. Underwater, it’s just me, my thoughts, and a feeling that everything can be better. It is like my mind understands that this is the time to edit out the bad possibilities and focus on the good. It almost feels like the water and I have signed an understanding to move me away from my worked up red and take me to the calm blue, my spiritual home.
Being cooped up, away from the water for five months, that ability to edit my thoughts is something I crave now. I have been researching the best way to get to a beach from a landlocked city and cannot wait till the pool near where I live reopens. I have found a little bit of my water fix from the sound of the ocean on YouTube or Spotify, but nothing can substitute the feeling of being one with the blue.
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