It was absolutely one of my all-time strangest encounters — but to fully appreciate it, a few mechanical elements must be understood first.
I’ve shared before that my new gym has a three lane swimming pool, one that requires reserving a 30-minute slot via the app.
There’s also a whirlpool and a therapy pool, plus a co-ed dry sauna that overlooks them all.
Even so, I was surprised when the silence of the sauna was broken last Sunday by a stranger asking me:
“Dude…Did that really just happen?”
I had reserved the last swim slot of the day.
Already in the water — I assume someone else had been a no-show — was a woman I’d watched arrive.
Probably mid-30s, with carrot-red hair in a messy bun, she always arrives with a trunkload of pool paraphernalia.
She puts on some kind of swimming vest and then threads 3 neon-hued swimming noodles through it.
They wrap around her back but extend like fins by her side.
Holding her iPhone (yes!) and wearing earbuds, she proceeds to walk — not swim— laps in the pool.
Again, this is the lap pool; a therapy pool for people with disabilities, injuries, or other limitations is a mere 10 feet away.
The colorful flotation devices are certainly a mystery—the pool is 4 feet deep—yet as long as I have my lane, I’m able to ignore a quirky character strolling alongside me.
The same, however, could not be said of her.
Pausing for a moment to adjust my goggles, I realized she had been lamely trying for several minutes to get my attention.
Not particularly nicely, she requested that I move from the middle lane to the side one.
(It was the last slot of the day, and for once, we were the only two people in the pool.)
I stared at her for a moment, confused by the request.
Feeling the need to offer a little explanation, she then volunteered — and remember, this is coming from someone in a lap pool —
“It’s just that…
I really don’t want to get wet.”
This Wednesday is my birthday—although lately I’ve switched over to the Mayan calendar, but trust me… that’s a whole other story!
I share the day with — among others — Lindsay Lohan and Larry David, but perhaps even more significantly, July 2nd is the exact midpoint of the year.
In fact, I have a perpetual calendar of Abraham-Hicks quotes; after July 2nd, you simply flip it over.
The same is true for a free-standing Tintin calendar I have as well.
Since the year will be officially half complete, I think it’s the perfect time to evaluate, refocus, and reinvent.
Mid-year resolutions, as it were.
Thus while it may be my birthday, I want to celebrate by giving something to you.
Details are HERE.
Back to the sauna…
As I was relaxing post swim, a gentleman who’d been lounging by the whirlpool entered.
After a moment, he broke the silence with, “I’m sorry but… did that woman really say she didn’t want to get wet… while in the pool?”
I chuckled and confirmed it.
As we were talking, another guy who’d also overheard the exchange entered and joined in our newfound “Can you believe it?” camaraderie.
As for me, since this month’s theme has been Out of the Box—Meditation HERE—I couldn’t decide if this was an extreme example of stepping outside known parameters or totally closing in on them.
This week, Twyla Tharp’s book The Creative Habit reminded me that :
Habitually creative people are,
in E. B. White’s phrase,
“prepared to be lucky.”
She even includes an exercise called “How to Be Lucky.”
Her advice:
I don’t use that word lightly.
Generosity is luck going in the opposite direction, away from you.
If you’re generous to someone, if you do something to help him out, you are in effect making him lucky. This is important.
It’s like inviting yourself into a community of good fortune.
Reveling in this notion that generosity is basically luck in reverse, I have a birthday gift for you HERE.
This Fall I’m launching — maybe with a Kickstarter — something I’ve been working on for a while:
A Science of Getting Rich Journal
It contains the entire classic book, some commentary from me, writing opportunities after each chapter, and 40 days of journaling prompts to really transform your mindset about abundance and prosperity.
Soon enough there will be a physical book you can hold in your hand, but for now I’m eager to share the most recent PDF with a select group of beta readers.
I’m also happy to offer it as 40 days of journaling prompts via email, if a little daily cosmic nudge feels like a better fit.
And while I’m not offering this as a course, I am scheduling three highly optional online moments—beginning / middle / final day—if you want to connect, share a quick meditation, or ask any questions.
Honestly, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate my birthday — and again you’re invited to join me HERE.
Despite the absurdity of it all, there are definitely a few things to be admired about my water-avoidant pool companion.
For one, the stunning level of confidence with which she asserted her request.
She felt no need to offer any explanation until she really had to say something, and certainly there was no trace of apology.
And while it may border on delusion, you’ve also got to admire someone brazen enough to take their iPhone into the pool.
(Just a note: Apple’s warranty doesn’t cover water damage — even for water-resistant models.)
She was a striking example of someone unabashedly living her truth — however incomprehensible it may be to the rest of us.
I am, however, wondering how she will adjust when all three swim lanes are occupied.
Will she resign herself to getting splashed… or will the water simply be way too wet?
I’m genuinely excited to share the Science of Getting Rich Journal with everyone who wants it.
The timing is perfect, since Tilman — my 24-year-old designer — is officially off the grid for a month, doing (in his words) “a canoe thing” somewhere without cell service.
Thus, it’s the perfect time to share the material, gather feedback, and fine-tune the manuscript with your invaluable input.
I was discussing this with a friend of mine who, despite being an absolute sweetheart, is also a bit of a marketing shark.
Rather than giving the PDF away, she encouraged me to monetize it — even now.
That didn’t feel quite right.
Indeed, remembering Twyla Tharp’s insistence that generosity is “like inviting yourself into a community of good fortune,” I declined her strategy.
“After all, it’s my birthday,” I declared, “and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate it than by being Ruthlessly Generous.”
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