I’m not sure if he was annoyed with us or not. He was gracious enough to visit with us for a few minutes as he prepared for his swim.
My wife, Amy, and I stood on the sandy shores of La Jolla Cove and chatted with the man in the Speedo. He was swimming from the cove to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography Pier and back. He said it was a little over a mile each way.
It was a cool afternoon by southern California standards. The temperature was in the low 60’s but for the tourists from Minnesota in November we were lovin’ it.
We wondered how long it would take him to make his swim. “Two hours and ten minutes to two hours and twenty minutes,” he said as he stared across the cove looking at the pier. He didn’t offer any information but he politely responded to each of our questions.
He looked to be about my age but was probably older and in great shape. He usually made the swim four to five times a week. Sometimes he did it with others but most of the time he enjoyed doing it by himself. If he didn’t already know we were sightseers we certainly gave ourselves away with our next question.
“Don’t you worry about sharks,” we asked.
“Never,” he responded quickly. “The likelihood of being attacked by a shark is minimal. You can’t spend your life worrying about what might happen. You miss too much.”
We thanked him for talking with us and climbed the steps above the cove. I had expected that when we got to the top we would see him swimming. As we turned around he was standing as you see him in the picture.
I’m assuming he is mentally preparing himself for his journey for the next couple of hours. I hoped he wasn’t all of a sudden thinking about sharks. A few seconds later, he was in the water and on his way.
Wow! I have to admit that I haven’t lived most of my life that way. I have missed out on a lot because I have spent too much time worrying about what might happen.
John Wayne said it best; “Courage is about being scared to death but saddling up anyway!”
What have you missed out on or are missing out on because you’re worried about what might happen? Courageous people are willing to take the risk to experience the reward.
What will you saddle up and do courageously this week?
Have a STRONG and COURAGEOUS day!
