Dancing in the rain
The day started shit.
I had a restless night’s sleep. A mosquito had found its way into my bedroom sometime during the night: I woke up intermittently throughout the night, hearing its high-pitched grating whine as it buzzed by my ear, itching the bites on my arms while trying to protect my body underneath the covers.
I woke up in a panic and frantically checked my phone — last night my WhatsApp account was inadvertently banned from so I had to submit a request for reinstatement. There was a brief moment of fear “what if…” and I let out a huge sigh of relief when I saw that my account had been reinstated and then a wail of panic when I realized that none of my chat history had saved.
It was not a great start to the day, although a morning networking call turned out quite well, and I was frustrated and felt the restless urge to move. Historically this has resulted in moving my mouth and consuming food to self-soothe, but I’m mature (kinda) now! I’m learning to tune in and pay attention to my body to understand what care is needed. Today I chose to move my body in a healthier way and treated myself to a hike, an activity I know has a calming effect on my soul - there’s nothing better than angrily stomping on a path while having passing phases of wonder as I glimpse out into the beautiful ocean.
Of course it started to rain during my hike. And since I had my swimsuit on and I was already wet…then why not go for a dip in the ocean?
Stripping down to my swimsuit and running headlong into the ocean was so incredibly freeing. Joy surged through me and a wild laugh broke free from my body. There’s something exhilarating about plunging into the ocean, being in the water while it’s also raining outside - it doesn’t matter that you’re wet because you’ll be wet from the water anyways.
It was such a wonderful reminder of why I moved to Sydney. I never thought I was a beach babe, but there’s something about the beaches here that draws me every time - something about the sand and water here that captivates me and calls me to come back again. As a result I made a commitment of going into the ocean at least once a week (I live an hour’s ride away).
The exhilaration of dancing in the rain and that feeling of uninhibited, carefree joy that comes from letting go of control to revel in this present moment — that’s why we dance swim in the rain.
