The Unthinkable

The past few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind... As I go through yet another career transition in my professional marketing life, I have found solace and inspiration in the pool picking up hours to teach swimming to veterans, children of all ages, and also coaching a renowned UES private school varsity swim team. 

The past weekend I had the pleasure of meeting accomplished athletes - Alex Meyer, member of the 2012 US Olympic team, who specializes in open water and long-distance swimming; Scott Rigsby, the first double amputee to complete the Ironman; and six-time Olympic medalist, Matt Grevers, who specializes in backstroke and freestyle. It's crazy to think that I crossed paths with these elite athletes within a 48 hour period at the pool. 

Matt Grevers was testing out TYR swimsuits, the new official sponsor for the AGUA teams. My jaw-dropped just watching him casually swim, amazed at his 6'8" frame, the speed and ease he moved through the water, his form, technique, and well, it only took him 2-3 strokes to hit the 25 yard short course wall! You definitely don't see that kind of great, fast swimming everyday!

Scott Rigsby was in town to speak with the veterans in the Adaptive Swim Program, that I help run. The first double amputee to complete an Ironman, automatically makes you wonder about his story, and you can't help but be instantly amazed at the feat of completing the Ironman on prosthetics. One of the first things he said was that he felt that the "title" associated with his "success story" feels foreign to him. From his perspective, his personal life story is filled with disappointment, challenges, heart break, fear and pain. But somehow throughout all the challenges he has faced in his life, he couldn't help but feel in his gutt that what he was going through served a higher purpose, which is why he was determined to learn how to swim, bike and run on prosthetics, activities he didn't even know how to do or enjoy when he had his legs! 

As I sat at Asphalt Green listening to Scott speak, and thinking about Alex and Matt, and the great accomplishments of the athletes and musicians I admire, I realized we focus so much on the award or title of a great accomplishment, and brush aside the painstaking journey it takes to get to that one defining winning moment. In swimming it means spending hours every day, sometimes twice a day, staring at a black line on the bottom of the pool, drilling and repeating each stroke over and over again, in the same way musicians would lock themselves in a practice room obsessing over each note and phrase. But there's also a thing called life that happens - personal relationships, financial difficulties, sickness, injury, and a whole list of the unexpected that can easily derail our focus, and make us question our purpose and fill us with doubt. 

Life does happen - and 2013 is that year for me! This year has been filled with tremendous, life changing challenges... Divorce, an overhaul in my relationships - friendships and family, accidents that led to injuries, and a career transition. The beauty of life is that we have a choice, and that decision is ours to make. I could have chosen to let all these challenges weigh me down and turn me into a bitter and angry person, and close myself from experiencing life, love and happiness. But I chose to believe that all things happen for a reason, have faith in the master plan of the Supreme Power of the Universe, find purpose, happiness, peace and love in each moment and person I have met in the "detour" of my life's journey this year. Simply, we can choose to operate in fear or faith. I choose Faith and decided to let things go and surrender to the Universe. 

I was never the athletic type, if anything, I was always the person who tried to dodge anything athletic, including asking my father to write me an excuse letter to prevent me from participating in any and every athletic event in school. But one thing I always loved was the water, and swimming was one of the things I actually did well. When I was younger being in the water was really more about playing and social times at the country club. Competitive swimming was really about proving I was faster than my friends, which I was, and not any formalized training or competitive club or school swimming. My proficiency in the water always led to community outreach activities involving the water, sponsored by my school, and those were the only reasons why I ever found myself teaching swimming. 

I don't know what compelled me to return to the water last year, aside from fitness and weight loss. I never imagined that diving into the pool would have led to me joining AGUA Masters, swimming competitively within the sanctions of US Masters, teaching Veterans how to swim and working as a swim coach. I always say that "things happen for a reason" and my renewed love for the water and the sport of swimming was part of my fate. I could never have predicted the obstacles and life changing events of this year. It was the pool and AGUA Masters that gave me an outlet to channel the negativity in my life into something positive, one stroke at a time. I also found a strong community of supporters and great friends within the walls of Asphalt Green, who have filled me with strength and inspiration, especially when the storms of my life threatened my destruction.

My story is clearly still being written... But the worst of the storm is over, the waters are calmer and clearer, and I am changed forever. I feel like the most honest and complete version of myself, happy, at peace and completely resolved in surrendering my life to the Divine Power of the Universe. There is no doubt in my mind, that I am where I am supposed to be and doing what I am meant to do at this present moment. 

Sure, I'm going through a career transition, but in the mean time, I wake up every day and make a difference in the lives of the veterans and students I coach and teach. 

In the hectic weeks of swim meets, finals and year end close of the Veteran's program, I've been told that there is a glow about me. The girls in the school I coach, have told me that I am a person they admire and they find inspiration in my swimming journey this year, and that many of them very much look forward to afternoon swim practice with me. Scott Rigsby told me on Saturday that there is something special about me, a kind of light, that touches people and he could see it in my interactions with the veterans and the way they respond to me.

Scott and I had a moment to talk about life, and I shared with him a bit of my story this year, and what had led me to swim and work with the vets. What he left me with fills me with hope and faith in myself and my journey, and most definitely worth sharing: " Remember today's Unthinkable's are tomorrow's realities. All the very best on your 'unthinkable' journey!"

Scott Rigsby with the Asphalt Green Veterans Adaptive Swim Program

Matt Grevers at the AG Pool