As the evening waned on, I found myself snuggled up to my
friend’s three-year-old daughter, Camille, at the bow of the boat. We were both
mesmerized by the sunset and Camille kept grabbing for the camera around my
neck to snap a few more shots of it. With nothing but the water rippling in
front of us and the orange sun above, I could appreciate that sensation of “flying”
that Rose felt in that iconic scene in the movie Titanic. I kept wishing the
sun would stay up longer so I wouldn’t have to leave the comfort of all the
lapping water all about me. It was right about then that a quote by Ernest
Hemingway flashed through my mind:
“The cure for anything is saltwater—sweat, tears, or the
sea.”
Given all that life has handed me these past few months, it
makes perfect sense that this was the quote that came to mind. And all of those
things—sweat, tears, and water (a.k.a. the sea) have proved, on more than one occasion,
to heal me.
Sweat
Over the past few years, I have found a solace in bicycling
and pushing my body to its limit by the number of miles I’ve dared to ride. Last
year I completed 100 miles in a single day. And while I don’t care to think
about the amount of sweat actually shed on that or any of my rides, I do know
that the effort and sweat it took to accomplish them purged and healed me of a
multitude of things. One of the things I’ve longed to do since the news of Andy’s
MS hit is to go for a good, long bike ride. I know that nothing will be any
different when I get back from riding, but inside I know I will feel better
about everything.
Tears
Shedding tears is often considered a sign of weakness. Truth
be told, I have believed that most of my life, which is why I so seldom cry in
front of people. But the truth is that sometimes you need to cry in order to
get to a stronger place. Crying is a way of relieving some of the strain caused
by a burden you carry in your mind, heart or body. I haven’t allowed myself to
cry very much about Andy and our situation because I don’t see any point in
wallowing in sadness over something I can’t change. But I have cried briefly a
few times to simply relieve some of the tension and frustration built up inside
me. And crying those few tears gave me the strength back I needed to keep
moving forward and not be consumed by my sadness.
Montana Seas
Much to my detriment I’m sure, I have only seen the ocean a
couple of times in my life. But living in Montana I am blessed by an abundance
of mountain rivers and lakes around me. They might not contain salt water, but
they surely are pure. I grew up swimming and playing in these waters, and even
though their chilly temperatures are often tough to bear, I always feel
refreshed and better about the world when I pull myself up and out of that
water. When I’m not playing in the water, I’m listening to it rush and bubble
along in a streambed near my campsite in the summer. Or watching it roll in
gentle waves in front of me like I did that night boating. I can’t visit the
ocean where I live, but I can appreciate the purity and peacefulness of the
waters we do have flowing here.
Saltwater, or any water for that matter, undoubtedly has
healing powers in it. As we drove the boat back to the dock that night, I kept
pondering Hemingway’s quote and the magnificence of water. Perhaps what I love
most about any water substance is that it is ever changing…..much like life.
That night I took comfort in that fact more than any other. No matter how
terrible life might seem at times, that period will eventually flow and change
into something else. All of us just have to keep moving forward trusting that
the tides will eventually turn.
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