I competed in the Enka Triathlon at Biltmore Lake this past weekend, it's a great first Tri of the year - 750M swim, 17.5 mile bike, 5K run. The swim is open water, in a lake, just short of 1/2 mile out and around a set of buoys. I've been doing Tri's since the mid 80's, and despite what I tell first-timers about the importance of remaining comfortable and not panicking in the water, I still get a little freaked out when the gun goes off and there's a mad dash for that first buoy. Invariably, I'll get kicked, hit, or have my goggles knocked sideways at least once during the swim. Everyone is trying to swim straight lines, the shortest distance possible. Nobody wants to stay in the water any longer than they have too (save for maybe the high school and collegiate swimmers who would ALWAYS prefer a longer swim leg!). I was talking to a non-participant post-race about the swim portion; she'd not done a Tri yet, and shared that the swim would be problematic for her. "I couldn't deal with looking down into that darkness of the lake water". I told her the key was actually looking up, or at least out front - keeping your head and shoulders up out of the water and focusing not on what was below you, but what was out in front of you. Now you need to know that I'm not the prettiest swimmer out there - in fact some triathlete friends of mine and swimming purists would suggest I have half a stroke (right arm) and a chop (left arm). Which I do. If you are ever sharing a lane with me and we're crossing paths on the left side, take cover. But here's the deal - I can swim pretty fast despite my unconventional stroke because I keep me head and shoulders up and I stay focused on moving forward - keeping my eyes on next marker or buoy out in front of me. I watch people go off course all the time because they are looking down (where there are no lane lines to be found!). They end up swimming out of their way, adding minutes to their swim legs, all because they couldn't keep their heads up and their eyes forward.
Going through life with our heads down, mired in the muck and nastiness of what often lies just below life's surface, can yield similar results. When your head is down, you're missing the good stuff. Life has a tendency to pass you by. Quite naturally, you're gonna see the weeds, mud, and darkness. It's generally the crap that Nancy Grace loves to rant on about, or the supermarket tabloid garbage, or the rumor mill at work. Negativity prevails. And your world tends to be shaped by what you see...and as with swimming, your eyes will always take the lead in keeping you on the straight path, in the light. We were made in His image - to love, encourage, accept, and have faith in one another. Anything else that's out there which interferes with these things will only serve to rob of us our joy, deplete us of our energy, and take us off the course He has intended for our lives.
So keep your head up, stay focused on the good that is out there - don't allow others to take you down below the surface or off your intended path. Leave the muck and mire below and behind.....and BELIEVE!
Matthew 6:22 "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.
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