John N. Marsh
Unitarian Universalist Interim Minister
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Deep Callings
Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. — Psalm 42, verse 7
Enough of you now know that I have been swimming in the bay with the South
End Rowing Club throughout the past winter that I feel the need to write about
it.
One of you asked if I feel like I have done something heroic after a swim. "No." If anything I feel sheepish about the activity. Somewhat akin to what the poet Mark Doty expresses in his description of his visits to the gym where men "hoist nothing that need be lifted but some burden they've chosen."
Another asked if the feeling of gratitude for life after swimming comes from having risked death. Again, "No." At least, "not exactly." There is sometimes a juvenile feeling of joy that comes with having done something incredibly stupid and gotten away with it, but there is something deeper also.
Bob Roper, founder of a group that does a long swim early every morning says
that the wondrous effects of submerging the body in
frigid Bay waters is incomparable to any other high, take all your drugs,
liquor, sex and rock and roll it can never equal to one glorious dip in the San
Francisco Bay. Once you do it you will be hooked to that hedonistic sweetness of
life. You will come back again and again, seeking that cosmic feeling in being
one with mother nature. Some club members think that he sells the
experience short. Others feel that he got it exactly right.
I always feel gratitude to be a part of such a scene. Setting out from the Aquatic Park Beach there is the "Baclutha", a tall clipper sailing ship on the right, the Golden Gate Bridge to the left, the Ghiradelli Chocolate Factory behind and the bay itself with Alcatraz and Angel Island ahead.
Then there is oneself--totally immersed in this landscape--part of what tourists point out to each other as they walk along the shore, like the wild parrots in the trees at the west end of the Park.
Also like the parrots feeling free of the normal constraints of gravity. The water also has an ice pack effect. The coldness calms and numbs any inflamed nerves. The aches of the body recede and the cares of the mind follow them out the door.
Then there are the things of which the mind becomes more aware--the risings
and settings of the sun and moon. The temperature of the water---always a
subject of lively debate in the locker room. And then there are the tides. I
always thought the tides simply come in and then go out according to a schedule.
Now I know they are much subtler than that. They create eddies and backwater
currents. They stand still. They go fast when people expect them to go slow and
slow when people expect them to go fast. They rip, lollygag, turn around, and
carry large objects. They are influenced by snowmelt, rainfall, the moon, and
who knows what else. They don't seem to bother much about human prayers, at
least, that is my experience.
If I had to extract one life lesson from the experience to share with you it would be: use the tides to your advantage. Sometimes it is fun to swim against the current for short distances, but for a long haul, it's best to let the currents help you. One member of the club celebrated his 80th birthday by swimming from Aquatic Park down to the Bay Bridge and back. Of course he charted his course and used his own energy to steer himself, but he could only accomplish his goal by using the tides to his advantage.
