Zen in Floating

Last week, a three year old girl fell into a man-made pond that was about four feet deep. Since the rainy season hasn't been very rainy this year the pond wasn't full and there was about 2 feet from the water to the top of where the water should normally reach... luckily a neighbor was there to jump in and pull her out. She was lucky. This got the kids around me asking me if I can swim and asking if I can teach them... I decided to plan a trip to the sea about 50km south of me and teach some of the kids the basics... mainly I was going to focus on floating and not panicking.

Today we were able to get my gma's son-in-law's tour van which was great because we were able to make a party of it! Some parents didn't allow their kids to go because they were afraid they would drown... logical and ironic. But the kids who were the most excited were allowed to come and their mother also came. Srey Mai, Vuthy, Srey Leah and Chuhn were my students for the day. They are around 7-10 years old...

Srey Mai is probably the most dedicated outgoing young girl I know in Cambodia when it comes to wanting knowledge... she always wants to learn, I love it! She is now the first person I can say that I have taught how to float... and it was amazing. At first she couldn't do it, she just sank, she would panic... I told her to not be afraid when your head goes under and your chin goes up because it has to... it should cover the ears, I told her... and raise your chest, curve your back, and relax... when she finally got it and I was just holding her up with one or two fingers it was amazing... I could see her just becoming calm... and it came.... and I let go and she just went on floating... ears under the water, chin held up, chest raised high, in yoga it's called the fish pose, or comes close to what fish pose is...

I floated with them. It was quiet, it feels like you are alone but a part of something because you never stop moving, something is taking you somewhere, or nowhere, but it doesn't matter... Floating... Life is like floating... the more you struggle and fight against it the less success you will have and only when you let go of the fear, or face it, is when you get the best that it has to offer. The key is to hold your chin up, keep your chest raised high and hope that the next wave won't be too big... but with practice you can learn to go through those big waves, over or under, it doesn't matter... what matters is that it too will pass... and the calm will always return again.