"You need a reminder once in a while that life isn't as immediate and primal as your amygdala might have you think." life. is. crazy.I just finished my THIRD YEAR of college. Like, two days ago! If you can't tell, my tone is one of utter disbelief and confusion. The reason why I'm so confused isn't because I'm absolutely terrible at school and am surprised I actually made it (though it is a factor), but rather because I'm yet a year closer to being thrown into the grips of life and ministry without a safety net like school in the fall to retreat to. Besides school though, life is still busy. If you've seen recent updates to my website, you'll notice a few things: 1) I have the honour of helping Movement Church Abbotsford in their ministries as they grow, 2) I only recently figured out that I have a solid income this summer working with people I love, which I'm stoked about, and 3) I'm still a total nut who can't make up her mind on what to do with life. 😉 It's fiiiiine. All in all, we could agree that life gets hefty, and its important that we find moments and opportunities to let out pent up stress. outlets of sanityThere are so many different ways to let out stress; I for one love to swim (in case you haven't noticed), and the sheer physical side of being in the water and stretching out those expensively destroyed, posture-impaired student shoulders can yield some incredible relief. Maybe for you, the most effective outlet is running, hiking, watching Netflix (??), gardening, playing with your cat... Wait... All of these are definitely things I do... Moving on. The point is, there are a ton of those 'green light activities' that we all know to help us. So why don't we just get our butts up off the couch and do it. For me, that seems to be a weekly question at the very least, maybe even more. I just always find myself needing release and self-care, but never acting on it. But the fact is that these outlets are what keep us sane and grounded. You need a reminder once in a while that life isn't as immediate and primal as your amygdala might have you think. the therapy of the waterLet's inspect my own chosen outlet a little further, which is swimming with my feet bound in a mermaid tail. If you haven't already got the shimmy on why or how this is a thing in my life, I'll try to briefly crack the nutshell for a peek: I have panic and obsessive compulsive disorders. These are some incredibly underrated experiences that affect millions of North Americas everyday. When I came to my first year of college, I had barely tapped the surface of my mental and emotional issues, which proved to try their very best to limit my success, happiness, and friendships in a new year of life. I wasn't much on the physical activity thing (which is basically the number one method of reducing cognitive duress), and I didn't have a whole lot of people to confide in that just understood. *Enter the nerdiest kid on the block, Faith.* When I met Faith, things got turned around pretty fast. You see, she was a short unorthodoxy-lover like me, who didn't become alarmed at my difficulties but rather stood with me through them. While the elements of a true friend can be saved for another blog post, she surely became one of my best friends who proved to be steadfast, loving, understanding, and challenging all the same. The thing about Faith, though, She wears mermaid tails. So here we are, two freshman nerds at our local pool for the popular late-night 'toonie swim', when one of them pulls out a fruit-cakin' mermaid tail and coerces the other to try it on just as swiftly as a used-car salesman sends a couple off with their very first Chrysler. I will admit that I was skeptical, but I enjoyed the opportunity to be different so I followed along. Fast forward a few months and this mermaiding thing had become a phenomenal outlet for me. Not only did it feed my intrigue for what is weird or odd, but it also improved my physical capabilities, my mental state, my friendship with Faith, and my overall happiness. The way I like to describe the cause-and-effect of mermaiding as a stress outlet is that gliding through the water in such a weightless and graceful capacity makes the exhaustion and the hardship of swimming into a challenge instead of a hindrance. The discipline required to find a peaceful homeostasis sitting at the bottom of the pool with your feet bound is high, but incredibly transcendent as emotional control training. Needless to say, thanks to Faith and this completely weird hobby, I have come a long ways into discipline and control of my anxiety and emotional duress through meditation of the water. take it an run with itHere's the application of this all; when you find the thing that clears your head and lifts weight off of your shoulders, makes you feel alive, grip it tightly and don't let go. Employ that thing regularly, give it its due credit and rely on it. Sometimes we North Americans get caught up in the belief that to be independent, we can't rely on anything other than ourselves for consistency and success, which is untrue on multiple levels. First of all, God's love is essential to being all that you can be; just taste and see. Secondly, we have a world so that we can interact with it. That's not to say that we should be rash or ignorant with what we have, but if you need a swim to break up that calcium-build up in your shoulders and you see a blinkin' lake, jump in. Take a note from Steppenwolf and recognize that you were born to be wild, literally, so give yourself the benefit of the doubt to trust in that outlet. Trust that it's there to help you, and not trick or destroy you. Helpful things that are quirky are still helpful. So grab a tail and your closest nerd, and jump in.
6 Comments
4/26/2019 01:25:32 pm
Thank you Rebekah for not only capturing the sheer joy of mermaiding, swimming and other aquatic activities, but for being so honest and genuine about everything that makes you 'YOU,' warts and all. I too struggle with anxiety and I'm glad that I have been able to find my releases, whether I'm underwater at local pools or lakes, letting loose on my piano, or sitting quietly with my Bible and a cup of maple coffee. Thank you for such a well-written, passionate post and may God bless you and your ministry work this summer and always.
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Rebekah Thomas
4/26/2019 01:45:50 pm
Adam, I’m so glad to be able to relate to you in all of this! It’s so true that we must be able to appreciate release in all the wonderful opportunities of God’s creation. I’d love to hear your story sometime about anxiety, mermaiding, and everything else related! God bless you this season, I hope you have an incredible afternoon!
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5/27/2019 07:51:32 pm
My goodness! It's a month later and here I am, finally realizing that you responded! Thank you, Rebekah. I won't bore you with too many details in this comment section but the short version is that I have two merman tails (my lovely wife has a beautiful lime-green tail) and we're both coordinating a video/photo-shoot with other N.S. mers to help promote my new album; my anxiety likely lingered for years but was finally diagnosed in 2017, and is a real part of me but does not define me; and I welcomed Jesus into my heart when I was 15 and, three decades later, I can't imagine life without Him. Looking forward to your upcoming blog posts about any and all of these things that make me "me" and you "you"!
Rebekah Thomas
5/28/2019 10:20:25 pm
Wow! That’s really incredible! It’s so encouraging to hear from other mer-people who struggle in that way, but maintain the perspective that WE ARE MORE than our illness because of Jesus.
Anastasia
4/26/2019 02:35:22 pm
Love this! Completely and 100% agree with everything you said <3
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Rebekah Thomas
4/26/2019 06:01:54 pm
<3
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