Quiet Desperation….part 2

After the coldest winter in 40 years here in the Abaco’s I think there is a chance that we may see summer this year.   The onset of warmer weather requires a change in my training program to mostly cardio.  In freediving, bottom time is all about cardio and the bottom is where the thrill is.  My friends criticise me because I drop too much weight.  I usually weigh in around 180-185 in the winter and 175 in the summer.   This is no sacrifice for me.  Due to certain physical and

Gulf front cemetaty after Katrina.

personality characteristics it is harder for me to keep weight on than to lose it.  No, I’m not a lunatic, I just have a very high basal metabolic rate.  I once wrote about “Zen and the art of free diving”.  This blog really isn’t so much about free diving as it is about living.

The bottom in freediving is where all the excitement is.  Sharks, lionfish, fire coral and the possibility of shallow water black out is what makes bottom time so valuable.   An analogy in surfing would be the excitement of late take offs and steep waves.  Sure, you may break your nose in an entertaining (to everyone but you) wipe out but without that chance, the steep take off wouldn’t be as much fun.  Some cliché’s are tedious and incorrect.  Some cliché’s represent a rare moment of harmony in the vibrations of the collective consciousness of mankind.  One of those cliché’s is the quote “Life is not a dress rehearsal”.   In my old life as an emergency physician and EMS director I dealt with death and dieing on a daily basis.  This is somewhat my area of expertise.   We all need to laugh as much as possible, cry when you need to…it will pass.   We need to spend as much time on the bottom as we can and never pass up a late take off for fear of injury.  Again these should be interpreted as metaphors.  Most people don’t even live near the water.  But if you look deep within yourself you will know what your “bottom time” is.  Trust me.  Today may be your last chance to do it.

As I have previously written, my favorite quote was penned by Henry David Thoreau.   “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation”.  In his poem “Prayer” he writes:   “Great God, I ask thee for no meaner pelf, than that I may not disappoint myself, That in my action I may soar as high, as I can now discern with this clear eye”

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