KINESTHETIC

I know: I talk about swimming all the time, but that’s how I start my day, six days a week. This morning there were two others in the water, I know them both, not by name but their styles. He is much like me, probably a decade younger and considerably heavier but he does freestyle, slow and predictable. We move at about the same rate but he stops between laps frequently and finishes before I do. Serina introduced herself to me; my age, average looking, another methodically slow freestyler. She only swims 15 or 20 minutes and leaves. Whatever else about them, I don’t know. The legacy they leave at the pool is not very wide, not very deep.

‘Legacy’ is either a tangible inheritance or what you leave behind of your nature or style that others remember. About the time your children begin to gray and their children get driver’s licenses, you begin to think about ‘Legacy.’ Although I live a comfortable life, I am not a man of means. My tangible worth will be meager. Certainly DNA is part of it; I carry genes and chromosomes that link my ancestors to my descendants. I am the conduit through which genes and chromosomes pass. When life is through with me they will still be out there, like butterflies going flower to flower. So, I wonder how I will be remembered. Presidents spend their first term doing controversial, polarized politicking. It makes for loyal supporters and strident opponents. In the last half of their second term, they do noble, endearing things with broad appeal. They want to be remembered in a good way. All of us will be remembered, one way or another, for a while anyway and it is comforting to believe it will be in a good light.

I think, for the most part anyway, that we act on our beliefs and that those beliefs will be the context of our ‘Legacy.’  I will be leaving a body of written work when I go and for anyone interested or willing to read through it, my nature and style will be quickly found out. But that’s for someone else to do. All I can do is share, on the page, what has been important and meaningful along the way. I’m not one for lists but I do keep track of quotes, ideas and principles that I fall back on when I need a reminder of what this life is all about. To begin with I’d lean on Carl Jung, 20th century psychologist-philosopher who noted; “There is no right or wrong, only what makes sense and what does not.” No question where I stand at the chasm between absolutism and relativism. Then I’d touch on ideas that have sustained. ‘Security is a myth and comfort is a shameless whore.’ I want to feel secure and I take comfort where I can just like everyone else but you need to understand. Will Durant, American historian & philosopher made the observation; “Civilization exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice.” It speaks to me of choosing reason and process over faith and tradition. Any collection of wise or otherwise, legacy bait need include Khalil Gibran. I would paraphrase; ‘Our children move through us, belong not to us; the fruit of life’s longing for itself.’ Our job as parents is to nurture and when the time comes, most certainly, you let go. So there isn’t any misunderstanding, the nurture part is lifelong and letting go does nothing to diminish being the parent.

I don’t know if I’ve advanced or enhanced my ‘Legacy’ potential but throwing out great quotes and embellishing great ideas comes easy. I’ll be back in the pool come dark-thirty and it’s about the only thing I do, repetitious and predictable that I look forward to. Nothing mysterious, I know exactly what it is, it’s about motion, the kinesthetic part of being. When I’m in motion, the mind goes to work at a level that is unavailable to the conscious part. I can think about other things but when the mind is ready, it lets me know what it has been up to. It’s like finding presents under the tree, any time of year. All I have to do is point myself down hill and burn some energy.