The Swimming Pool

Forty two, Forty three, Forty four… I ran out of breath and pulled my head out of the swimming pool with a heavily splash of water. My “Holding your breath inside the water” session just ended and I was ready for my next level swimming that evening.

This incidence occurred on one frigid winter evening when I was at my club’s indoor heated swimming pool. After the breathing exercise, I started swimming and stroking through the blissful blue water. Just reaching halfway to my second lap, I saw a hapless father along with his ailing son, entered the enormous main door of the swimming pool hall. He was pushing his son’s wheelchair to make a way to the pool. The son appeared in his early teenage and physically and mentally challenged.

“Probably the victim of Autism” I guessed.

All covered in a thick woolen blanket, the boy seemed to be suffering from the squint too, which is also known as cross-eyes, where the person is unable to orient both eyes on the same object at the same time. Almost quarter part of his face was covered with saliva, coming out of his mouth. He looked a bit unconscious too. And god knows what other mental battles he was going through, from within. The father looked very caring though, after all he was “The Father”.

To my surprise, the boy was here for swimming. Unbelievable. A boy, who has troubles even with simplest life things like focusing, walking and understanding, was here. Actually. For swimming! The dad unwrapped the boy from blanket and started helping him up from the chair. A lifeguard, from the other side of the pool, rushed to the wheel chair to help the father and the kid. They both supported the boy lift himself up and lowered him in to the pool. And guess what? The boy started swimming. He was actually swimming! I could not believe my eyes. The challenged boy forgot all his troubles and his imprudence. His body movements were not so flawless, obviously, but still, he was swimming.

I could not help myself but ask one of the lifeguards about what this was all about. She informed me that this family comes here for a few years now.

“This is nature” She told me. “Water is very supportive in such cases. Nature adopts us when we are in need. This is called “Aquatic Therapy” or “Swim Therapy”. I have seen even infants swim flawlessly in their first attempt. The nature does wonders sometimes. Doesn’t it?”

Her adequate explanation and the entire scene made me thinking, of two things. First thing, how incredible the nature could be. But most importantly, Second thing. About rest of the people in the swimming pool. They were so welcoming to the autist boy. I observed that, they were looking at the boy with affectionate eyes with warmth inside their hearts. I could observe that they could feel the boy’s situation and shown their extended support to cheer the boy up. Then I looked around the whole giant swimming pool room. I could see people from at least 20 different countries. Of all sizes, shapes, appearance, colors and ethnicities.

This got me thinking of even stronger point, how welcoming this place is! The swimming pool. Never thought about it before. How conveniently people associate with each other regardless of their skin or hair color, their mental and physical conditions, their ethnicity. Sometimes you see people sneezing, spitting and cleaning up the throat, nose, ears, and mouth and trash their wastes inside the pool. Sounds disgusting in my words here, but at pool no body minds it. With open hearts, they accept it and keep doing what they have been doing.

Probably, they say to their selves, inside their minds “its ok, Johnny. It happens. This is a swimming pool. You get all kinds of people here.” And then carry on.

This boggles my mind with the thought that “Why can’t this whole earth be like a swimming pool. Be friendly to all kinds of people. Be respectful to the needs of all the people. Be welcoming to the different cultures and ethnicity. Regardless of religion, regardless of gender, regardless of hair and skin color. Where, no one is bothered by the other one doing or practicing his beliefs, faiths, and needs, just like they did not mind the boy entering the pool with his saliva-mouth. Where, people rush for help and extend their hands to the needy, like that lifeguard did. I am looking for those affectionate eyes that embrace the unfortunate ones around the world. I am searching for the warm hearts who are receptive of everyone’s equal existence on this tiny earth.

Yes, Tiny Earth. I was watching a video the other day that showed how negligible the earth’s size is compared to the huge-wide universe and its humungous planets. We are like a sesame seed lost in the enormous farm. Our existence is so little that it could be easily overlooked. And look at us. We are busy fighting with the issues created by us, the mortals of the planet called “Earth”.

In past, there was a time when people did not leave their villages, their towns and their countries. They did not move. They did not go to remote locations. But now the time has changed. Now global movements and expatriates are at its all-time high. We are truly becoming global citizens. We cannot afford to have our ancient beliefs about discriminations.

Diversity is the distinct backgrounds, cultures, characteristics, and experiences that each person brings to this world. This includes a wide spectrum of attributes such as color, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, caste, disability, and ethnicity or religious beliefs. Let’s be Inclusive to everyone to make this earth a place that values differences and enables people to reach their full potential in pursuit of the life purpose. A place where people feel involved, respected and connected. A place where their perspectives are sought after and leveraged, and they are included in formal and informal networks. Let’s respect everyone and demonstrate this through actions and words. Let’s be aware of how our actions might offend others. Let’s be honest and open and don’t rely on first perceptions. Let’s never judge others’ journey just by their appearance. Let’s demonstrate appreciations. Let’s foster a spirit of co-operation and respect the uniqueness of each individual.

Considering that, I ask myself. How hard it is to accept the person or community the way it is? Why we need to create unnecessary conflicts? Why cannot the communities, the countries and the world run smoothly?

And I am still asking. I am still looking for that perfect world. I am still searching for that “Swimming Pool”.