Discussion Thread: Good Things

One of the ways we resist the demoralization and despair in which exploiters of fear like Trump thrive is to keep talking about the good things in our lives.

Because, even though it feels very much (and rightly so) like we are losing so many things we value, there are still daily moments of joy or achievement or love or empowering ferocity or other kinds of fulfillment.

Maybe you've experienced something big worth celebrating; maybe you've just had a precious moment of contentment; maybe getting out of bed this morning was a success worthy of mention.

News items worth celebrating are also welcome.

So, whatever you have to share that's good, here's a place to do it.

* * *

I had a good swim last night, followed by a lingering float on my back, during which I stretched my arms and legs and neck to their lengths and breathed deeply, in and out and in and out, and allowed my habitually whirling mind to think about nothing at all; to be at peace for precious, lingering moments.

On the way home, I had a good conversation with Iain about swimming, during which I had a good insight about why swimming is so special to me; why it is that I feel so markedly better after a swim than I do after a workout on a treadmill or elliptical machine.

Partly, of course, it's that I can swim far longer and work my body far harder in water than I can anywhere else, because of the hypohidrosis that makes it nigh impossible for me to cool myself sufficiently to exercise vigorously, unless I'm in cool water. But, especially with my spritzing water bottle, I can move long enough to benefit from the release of endorphins.

But swimming gives me something of even greater value; I feel exponentially better after a swim — and, as I talked to Iain last night, I realized that the difference for me is that moving my body in water is psychologically different than moving my body against a machine. There is resistance in water which makes me stronger, but it is not adversarial. I am not trying to defeat the water like I am trying to defeat a machine, or overcome the challenge it presents.

Instead, I am in the water; I move with it and through it; it moves with me and around me. The water is my partner, literally buoying me — which is a rare gift for a woman with a fat and disabled body in this world.

Being able to articulate how meaningful that is to me felt very good indeed.