Musings 
No Comments One Stroke at a Time
Floating lazily on my back in the Andaman Sea, I was drifting in and out of a pre-planned reverie. Three weeks earlier my son, Gary, had been born. He was healthy and beautiful.
The many weeks before had been less so. The doctors had advised that the baby was in a breech position and a cesarean delivery was recommended and scheduled.
On week before the scheduled surgery, Gary had flipped inside and a normal birth was now possible. With labor pains commencing, my wife, Marlena, was taken to the hospital. While monitoring Marlena’s labor, it became evident that the baby was under stress as his heart rate had become irregular. The doctor, fearing that the umbilical cord had become wrapped around Gary’s neck, decided to perform an immediate cesarean. The doctor’s assessment and decision were correct – indeed the cord had wrapped dangerously around Gary’s neck.
In addition to the normal stresses preceding the birth of a child, my work and travel schedule had also sponsored mounting stresses. With Gary and Marlena healthy and safe, three weeks later I headed to the island of Phuket for a three-day respite.
Back to the Andaman: My floating reverie collapsed quickly when I opened my eyes to discover that a rip-tide had swept me hundreds of yard from shore. Never a strong swimmer, I attempted to swallow my panic and swim toward land. Not to be!
The more I thrashed the farther I was carried out to sea. I could barely spot a few people on the beach. My yells for help were unnoticed and unattended. Panic began to take control.
My total thoughts were about my new son and how thoughtless and careless I had been to deprive him of my fathering – and me of his loving companionship. From a deep recess a memory emerged.
I recalled reading that you cannot ‘swim against the tide’. To overcome the pull of the tide required swimming at an angle with it, hoping to swim out of its grip.
My thoughts exploded in expletives, “Damn! If this life experience is going to end here it is going to watch me swimming – and swimming!” Silently, but vehemently, I shouted down my panic and replaced it with the resolve that my life and Gary’s, and all my ‘loved ones’, were worth ‘one more stroke’! My physical and mental strength became irrelevant – as did Time. My total focus was ‘one more stroke’! No enlightenment or ‘open heavens’ embraced me. I swam and I swam, and I swam – ‘one stroke at a time’.
A million years later I sensed that the current no longer commanded me. I turned toward shore, now a couple of miles distant, and continued one stroke at a time.
Stroke by stroke I inched closer to shore. I swam promising to re-unite with my ‘loved ones’. The water warmed as it shallowed. When I finally stood trembling, staggering to the beach I saw children and parents frolicking – all having no awareness of my travail.
As I collapsed on the bed of the rented island cottage several thoughts flooded my mind:
- Sometimes we seem to be truly alone.
- Yet, we have inner strengths – unknown to us.
- The power of Love is a doorway.
- As I create my life great opportunities and contributions are possible when I willfully demand access to these strengths.
- Requested strength may not rush forward. It may only appear when decisively acting ‘one stroke at a time’.
- My life experience is blessed – it is my challenge to share my strengths for the benefit of others.
This story could have been positioned in my book chapters on Adversity, Courage, Success, or even Responsibility. I chose Service because the lesson for me is, “I am strengthened when working for the benefit of my ‘loved-ones’ and others.
Although not always living-up to my own expectations, my life mantra continues to be, “Serving self is in serving others – one stroke at a time.”
*****
“The service we render to others is really the rent we pay for our room on this earth. It is obvious that man is himself a traveler; that the purpose of this world is not ‘to have and to hold’ but ‘to give and serve.’ There can be no other meaning.” – Sir Wilfred Grenfell
