Less is Always More

Recently I had an occasion to revisit our time in Metz, about six years ago. I had joined the local community pool to faithfully continue my 1km lap swimming - which I started when I turned 30. I am 62 now.

As was my nature, my daily swimmings were acts of constant vigilance and improvement - each stroke should be better, each lap faster, each turn at the wall - smoother. I was constantly trying to better myself and it worked. While most swimmers were older, heavier, disgruntled and carried out their time in the pool with dogged determination to survive, live, be healthier, my time in the pool was an act of love and pure enjoyment. I have loved water since I was a child. It took my 27 minutes to swim the distance, give or take about 30 seconds.

Yet, at the back of my mind was always this irksome thought - what about play? I was never bored, but was that because of all this focused trying? What would happen if I remained merely present and swam - because I liked to. So that one day I decided to try just that.

I swam that day without effort, without checking the large wall clock at each lap, with out trying for a better speed, or a sleeker stroke. I swam in effortless awareness of water, myself and my breath - silence and - bubbling out, up and down, up and down. Just that much.. nothing more to do - glide up and down like a Koi Carp.

When I was done - I glanced up and found that I had swum the fastest ever - for me. By 4 minutes!! I couldn't believe that this had really happened. 

I've carried a memory of this at the back of my mind - as I swam, did my evening walks, and even here in Kyoto, where I use Google app to walk the most I can and also the fastest. I wonder why I have never repeated that experiment or been guided by it, in my future activities. Maybe I like competing against myself, maybe it's easier to cave in to habits? Actually, I think it's because it's far easier To Do the Most we can - than To Do Nothing - just Be Water and Flow, with ease, and with the tide.