Jumping in, heart-first

Do you ever have a blog or newsletter in your mind and you build it up so much that it becomes nearly impossible to write? You don't feel like you can ever really put into words what you want to say. For me, that's this post.I've been thinking about this post since the moment it happened. How I was going to share it with you, what I would say. Here we are. Let's just dive in (pun intended).I did something most others wouldn’t a few weeks ago.This might be my version of walking on hot coals.I swam alone in the ocean.To me, it feels huge!I went to Portugal a few weeks ago, for a little exploration and relaxation. (I wrote about it more here) Portugal is the jumping off point for exploring the world. The explorers who discovered North America by boat departed from Portugal. That's what I was there to do. To discover more about myself and the world.While I was there, I took a ferry to an island so I could get the beach experience. It looked beautiful but no one dared to wade into the cold waters.So, of course, I grabbed my goggles and headed down to the water.Freezing!But, this was my mission: to swim. My head said it would be cold - but my heart roared that I needed to go in. And I listened to that call.I waded into the water until it was at my waist, put my face in, and started swimming! I didn't go far, but I did see some fish. (Admittedly, I tried the back stroke and got a little freaked out by the vastness of the ocean behind me.)But seeing that school of fish was such a gift.Yet, fish or no fish, it just felt so...powerful to swim alone in the ocean.There are some big things I have to do alone this year, and this was my first test. To me, conquering this -- recognizing it, focusing on it, and actually following through -- was all about building my courage for what’s to come. To know that I can trust myself, even if it’s “scary.”I picked up a few shells as reminders of my accomplishment and returned to my chair for lunch and allowed the hot hot sun to dry me off.

Your turn

What is your "swim alone in the ocean" moment? Is there something you need to dive into heart-first? How can you be yourself or express yourself more? How can you finally say yes to something you want?