At long last I am back in the water, walking forwards and backwards, bending, standing on tiptoes, rolling like a seal and just flat out in repose. A brief incision infection and knee instability kept me out of the pool until now.
There are so many things I love about the water not the least of which is how inspiration and clarity come so easily. First the inspiration.
While standing at the edge doing side leg lifts I was struck by my own reflection in the water. The sun peering through the skylights created really dramatic long and thin diagonal ripples from my extended fingertips up to my neck.
If only I had a camera with me in the pool. I am always thinking this. A camera in the pool, a camera in the car, a camera on the dashboard, a camera built into the windshield to capture all these glorious inspirations for future work. More and more I am training myself to see with my eyes in the moment, capture it with my brain, and it works. Here I am several hours later writing about the reflection of my arm in the swimming pool!
When I just slow down and focus on my movement in the water clarity follows. Today my inner wizen spoke…even though this 2nd knee replacement has been so much more challenging than the first a year ago I am making progress. It may be slower than I would like but it has only been 3 months. So quit whining about it, continue to do the hard work and move on…for the studio beckons. After all that is the end goal…to be able to stand at my design wall without pain and make art once again…and to have a good reason to renew my passport!
That’s it! When you slow down and focus — clarity follows! It works for all of us. Hang in there.