"Diving In" To Community

This Thursday from 7:15-9:15 we are hosting our first community event....the 1st Annual Fredericksburg Diving Championship.  When board member, Vel Anne Howell, suggested a diving championship as our first community fund raising event...she got a lot of strange looks!  But we quickly saw how perfect her idea was for many reasons.  First of all it's out of the box...where we want to be...and as far as we know it hasn't been done in Fredericksburg.  Second...it's fun!  We want to continue to offer fun, family oriented events where people can laugh and get to know their neighbors.  And third, the act of diving is very metaphorical, and since I was recently called the Queen of Metaphors, I feel moved to comment further on this topic.

As President of the Foundation for Community Wholeness I feel led to make the opening dive at this event, but there is only one problem...I don't know how to dive and I am terrified to dive!  I have always loved the water and swimming, but diving in head first is another story all together!  Maybe it has something to do with a swim teacher forcing me off the high board when I was 8 years old!  Anyway...I am 43 years old now and have never dived!  That is...until this past Saturday.  While visiting my friend, Janet in Austin, I was telling her and her friend, Candace, about our Diving Championship, and the humble fact that I didn't know how to dive.  Believe it or not...Candace looked at me and said, "I used to be a competition diver.  I can teach you how to dive today if you would like."  My shocked reply was something along the lines of "Are you kidding me?!"

So...2 hours later...I found myself at a community pool in Austin receiving diving lessons from competition diver, Candace.  Remember the river I talked about in earlier posts, and how when you are floating in it you just don't know where it will take you?  This was one of those moments.

Standing on the edge of the pool...preparing to make my first dive....I found myself standing in fear looking into the vast unknown of that body of water.  One of the life guards said "Don't think about it.  Just do it!"  So finally that is what I did...I quit thinking and just dove in....trusting the water.  It took  about 10 dives before I rally started to fully surrender and trust the water would accept me and allow me to come up to the top when  I was ready.  By the 30th dive I was exhausted, but enjoying the feel of plunging into the unknown with my whole self!

This act of being and surrendering is my dream for each of us!  To not just "live" in a community, but "be" in community.  It is what is meant for our lives.  It is our purpose!  To be our own unique selves, bringing our own unique traits, thoughts, dreams, and stories to the edge of the pool and diving in....surrendering to the water!  Like the water in the pool, I want our community to be loving and accepting, to be bouyant...allowing each of us to dive in, but also supporting us, and lifting us up when we need it! 

Come "dive in" to community with me on June 16!