The Man Who Swam Out Too Far

 

I just got back from a few days at the beach. I love the beach. Beach = freedom to me. Free from the usual clothes that weigh you down. Free from furniture. You can lay flat on the sand and it's not weird. Free from the ground. You can float - suspended in the water. Free from the normal sounds you hear everyday. You can even go underwater and hear nothing but the turning of the earth. Free to breathe. Free from "have-to." I can walk or sit or float for hours. Free from buildings and trees and anything that gets in the way of looking as far as you want to. You can actually see where the earth curves. Isn't that fabulous?! I think a lot of people love the beach like I do.

 

One afternoon, I sat on the sand in a groovy peaceful quiet state of mind and body. I watched as a man and his son began to swim out. They were talking and laughing and going under the water like ducks in a giant pond. They swam and bobbed, their heads becoming smaller and smaller dots on the surface of the water. After a while I realized that I didn't think I had ever seen anyone swim that far out in the ocean. Of course, I had nothing to compare their little dot heads to, no reference to gain perspective. At times, their dot heads would disappear completely and I would frantically search the horizon. I mean, this is an impressive shark attack summer after all. Then I saw their dot heads again.

 

After a while, a leathery tanned couple walked by and asked "Are those people out there?"  pointing to the horizon in the direction of the 2 dot heads.

I told them, "Yes."

"They're too far out!" The woman declared emphatically.

"They sure are!" The man agreed and took out his cell phone and called the Beach Patrol as he paced nervously waving his arms in disbelief at this man's unabashed behavior.

 

In a short, information-filled conversation I discovered that the tan couple had just moved to the island from the city and I'm sure they were not going to let anyone drown or get shark-bit on their island, not on their watch! So they started the commotion.

 

They found the man's pre-teen daughter, the boy's sister, and worked her into a frenzy so much so that she was going to swim out and save her father until the tanned man stopped her and saved her life to the tune of , "Oh, no, you're not little missy!" She was in tears reaching out to the little dot heads.

 

A group of round, half-naked, sunburned city dwellers gathered pointing and wagging their heads disappointed that one of their kind would do such a thing. A couple of women comforted the pre-teen girl. The small children sang and danced excited by the commotion that the tan man created who now stood tall and proud like a ringmaster in a circus.

 

Eventually, the man and his son got back to shore and they didn't look very tired or afraid. They seemed a bit confused as to why they were being reprimanded by the uniformed beach patrol. The onlookers showed their disappointment by their frowns and comments. The pre-teen girl dried her tears.

 

Now, some of you will think the tanned couple did a heroic thing, saving the man and his son from their foolish behavior. Others will be angry that someone dared to step in and pass judgment and hinder them from their adventure.  There are a lot of factors here: the man taking his young son so far out, the rules (which I didn't see posted) and just common sense that of course come into play. But I'm not trying to determine right and wrong here, I just think it's interesting that there are those reactions to the man who swam too far out.

 

When anyone gets "too far out" people react the same. They will panic and rush to save the person from their foolish ways. Others will just watch to see what happens and still others will cheer them on and get angry with the people who stop the adventure.

 

Think about artists and pioneers and inventors and mystics and lovers and haters. When they get too far out, people react. It's dangerous to go too far out, you might get hurt or die or you might change the world. When is it worth the risk? When should someone step in and stop the madness? When do we step aside and let them take the risk?

 

It makes me think about when Jesus taught about counting the cost of following Him. He said, "those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples." He was calling us to go "too far." When we decide to take a chance and take a risk we have people who try to save us from our madness. They tell us we're "too Christian" or cry and worry that we will endanger ourselves and others. Then there are those who just hang back and watch and see but don't commit on the same level we do. Then there are our brothers and sisters who cheer us on in the adventure. They're good cheerleaders but you can't be really close because you're still a bit too dangerous for them.

 

Finally, there are our "sons," those rare few who think just like us, who swim out into the deep beside us. They're partners in the adventure! They will have seen the dolphins, too. They will have experienced the height of the waves, too. They will have experienced the vastness of the ocean and the tininess of themselves, too.

 

Keep those people close. They are very rare and precious.