Life on the Edge

I want to explain why it is that even after 500 days I will continue to swim; why it is still important to continue this daily immersion into the waters of Roaring Beach. In part it is because I have not remembered the forgotten language of the flippered fairy penguins and dolphins of the ocean.

In early April there is to be a colloquium of gathered nature writers discussing the issue of art and political environmental activism; a subject very dear to my heart. To attend, though, would mean giving up on the sincere quest to reach three years, three months, three weeks and three days or a total of 1212 continuous, unbroken surfs at the beach that is my home. Ultimately, the final number is not important. But what is, is the seriousness required to stay with a ritualised discipline long enough for a transformation to take place. When, how or what this might be I will admit to having absolutely no idea. My soul, however, urges me to accept this mystery and just get on with the practice. As for the colloquium, my hope is that in a few years another one will happen and I will receive a second invitation to attend. There is every possibility that at the next colloquium I just might have something worthwhile to talk about; something grounded in an authenticity that comes from intimately knowing the particulars of the place where one dwells; something where "the sense of place" includes the languages of the place. As for the fairy penguin in the photo..... I rescued the little fellow from the surf four days ago when it swam up next to my boogie board, all exhausted from malnutrition, and asked for a lift into the shore. True. I gently picked the fairy penguin up in the palm of my hand, placed him/her on the board and kicked slowly to the beach. After an overnight of drying out in a box full of fluffy blankets in the house, a friend and I tried to release him/her back into the surf, but the penguin only wanted to crawl into the nearest cubby hole and sleep. Sensing it was still too weak, I took the bird to Leslie "the sea bird lady" for her to look after until the penguin's undernourished body has gained sufficient weight for it to survive another attempt at finding fish to feed itself. Hopefully, at our next encounter in the water, the fairy penguin will be chipper enough for a decent conversation.