Swimming Googles

I walk out of the bathroom after a lazy long bath on a Sunday afternoon. Water is dripping all over from my body and as I enter the walk-in closet, I take notice of my swimming goggles. Without thinking, I wear them and feel the energy developing in my body. Charged up, I walk out of the closet, ready to enjoy the Sunday remaining.

Back then, water used to be such a scary thing that being able to swim was like a special gift endowed by the almighty to a fortunate few. Memories of being pushed down a 100 feet deep well in my village and saved later by my dear brother, but coming out coughing, panting, gulping water, did not help assuage my fears. Whenever I saw an expert swimmer cruising gracefully in water, I was always envious. I secretly yearned to swim as gracefully and be fearless of water like.

A new friend, who was a regular swimmer, encouraged me to join him and try to learn. I was hesitant, remembering the episode of village well. Coughing momentarily and dreaming of making confident strokes in water, I took up the offer.

Once in water, the sight of six year olds making butterfly strokes embarrassed me while I was moving all my body parts, trying to stay afloat despite the float around my waist. How can they swim so well, when it is impossible to even breathe and stop the water entering my eyes, I thought to myself. The friend just reminded me to not stop kicking and keep trying. It was the end of first week and my float came off, but I was still splashing buckets of water all around the place and ignoring the glances of people around. One of the most bothered of all suggested the use of a good pair of goggles and keeping the head down.

Head down, goggles on, my body was much straighter and I immediately felt the difference. The best part was watching the tiles at the bottom of the pool, shinning in the underwater lights and going back as I launch myself ahead. Very soon I completed one full lap of the full. That was a fine milestone for me and I treated the goggle adviser with a free evening snack that day.

Goggles kept me focused on doing the basics right – legs straight, hands stretched, breathe the right way. They killed the biggest distraction by not letting a single drop of water in my eyes. Soon I learnt to do back stroke and it felt like I was floating on a blanket of clouds. A few times it rained and cold rain drops over my body and warm water of the pool made me feel like I was a part of the water world. I felt like a fish, free and ready to explore the pool, now that I was confident that my stamina won’t run me out. It was amazing how the stamina just builds up with constant practice as I was soon doing marathon laps.

My hectic days winded up with the marathon laps and every single day I emerged out of the pool feeling energized. Time in the pool was my time off from the world – time with myself, my thoughts and my ideas. At times, I solved some complex calculus problem in my mind and made some of the best decisions while doing those memorable laps.

Every time I wear my goggles in my wardrobe, I remember my initial fear of water, my willingness to learn swimming and then my journey of becoming a good swimmer. There is no looking back now.