The dive...

Sliding softly down into the yearning, emerald deep,
Rippling sensations of passing descent, wash away the too full, days.
Quiet forgetfulness...a darkened remedy, a pause of peace.

A thousand bubbled massages,
Soothe and release the cocked trigger of muscle.
The descending dive, unslithers me from my overly burdened skin,
I shed...time.
And it reminds me that I am alive.

Coming up....
Darkness gives way to light,
Ascending,
Rising with effortless lift,
a porpoise or an eagle,
Blissfully lost in the mix of sea becoming sky.

Underneath...
The distance, surprises me,
The reach awakens me,
I rise swiftly, a sense of quickening birth overtakes me.

I pass through...
Born anew.
Gasping and in rushes today and tomorrow.
Gently rolling over,
The sun leans down...Fatherly kiss, motherly light.

I am alive again.

-Eric Blauer (8.17.09)

After the baptism we did on Sunday morning, I took a dive into this spot of the lake we were at. It was the first time all weekend I was in the water. I had been admiring the emerald lake but the cold temperatures, the rain and the crowds had left me hesitant. But the sun had come out, the baptismal waters were surprisingly warmer than anticipated and I knew...the water called.

So after the glorious moment of new life was celebrated...I turned from duties and dove into the deep.
With eyes closed, I descended into the cooling waters. The quietness and the revitalizing depths were almost ecstasy.
I opened my eyes as I began my ascent and quickly noticed that the surface was quite a ways up.
The lake shore drops off fast here. The moment of feeling the depth of the waters and the ascending...is heavenly.
I cant even explain the exhilaration I felt in the moment of this spot...it was amazing.
As I came closer to breaking the surface, the bliss was as childhood as it could get, but with adult appreciation.

I think it was one of my most visceral aquatic experiences...