I replied to a post the other day for someone who wanted to stop drinking but they were feeling apprehensive about it...
I told them that now they had dipped their toe in the water, not to be afraid to jump in as there would be many hands waiting to catch them…Well that got me thinking, and I think there is a comparision to be made between all of us here at MWO and a busy day at the local swimming pool…So here goes….
Pretend you are sitting high up in the viewing gallery and as you look down you can see everything…
Lets start at the shallow end, here you have the non-swimmer, the new ones, who are on their first or second visit….they stand there, scared to take their feet off the bottom, frightened to trust in themselves in case they can’t make it and end up drowning…..Some of them don’t realise the lifeguards will rush to help them in any emergency, they forget they can ask the more experienced swimmers for help at any time….For some its all too much as they look towards the deep end of the pool far away in the distance and think “ No I can’t do it, I’ll never be able to swim that far, I’ll be out of my depth “…Completely forgetting that those swimmers they can see in the distance, diving in, swimming and generally having a good time had once stood where they are now, consumed with the same feelings of fear and inadequacy…So some of them go home, never to return…
The ones who stay, a few of them may decide to sit on the side of the pool just long enough to gather their courage to perhaps have another go…And then a well meaning relative or friend may come up and give them a push into the water thinking they are helping…That never works, you have to decide for yourself when you are ready to get into the water and lift your feet off the bottom…So they opt out as well…
The last few who are left, who decided to give it a go, they are the ones who have the confidence to lift their feet, make the first few strokes…Sometimes they don’t quite get it right and disappear under the water for a few seconds, but they bob up again, coughing and spluttering….Another few give up at this stage because they think its getting too difficult and they will never make it…
Then we come to the ones who think its worth another try…They are the ones who realise they can’t do this properly on their own so they ask for and are given help….For some, it will be one to one swimming lessons, for others a pair of water wings or a float will do, but its only until they get used to swimming on their own and it becomes part of there normal routine…
Gradually as time goes on these novice swimmers can be seen swimming further and further down the pool, starting to gain confidence and a belief in themselves that their goal is attainable…Where they once thought “ This is too difficult, I’m going to fail “ they now look back at the shallow end and think “ Why was I so scared?, I can do this “…Then the magic, when they look forward and realise the deep end of the pool is almost within reach….
And then we come to the deep end, here people are diving in from the high board, doing back flips off the side, swimming across the pool underwater, filled with confidence not fear, knowing that what they are able to do now is achievable, with practice, by anyone….After all, don’t forget, they were once standing at the shallow end themselves, scared to take their feet off the bottom….
So if this is your first visit to this swimming pool, and you are standing in the shallow end, frightened and shivering, overwhelmed by it all, look down towards the deep end by all means, but don’t be intimidated by the distance you will have to swim to get there…Enjoy the shallow end, splash around, lift your feet off the bottom now and then, watch your confidence grow, and one day when you reach the deep end you will look back and be amazed at the distance you have travelled……
I have just re-read this and it made me realise the distance I have swum….My very first post on here consisted of one line!!!!! Which read,
“ Yes, help me please, I love the taste of alcohol, but I desperately want to cut down on my drinking “…
Now I am looking over my shoulder at the distance I have travelled, and I know that the deep end where all the hard work pays off and the good life begins is getting nearer and nearer each day….
Keep Sober, Love from Louise xxxx
I told them that now they had dipped their toe in the water, not to be afraid to jump in as there would be many hands waiting to catch them…Well that got me thinking, and I think there is a comparision to be made between all of us here at MWO and a busy day at the local swimming pool…So here goes….
Pretend you are sitting high up in the viewing gallery and as you look down you can see everything…
Lets start at the shallow end, here you have the non-swimmer, the new ones, who are on their first or second visit….they stand there, scared to take their feet off the bottom, frightened to trust in themselves in case they can’t make it and end up drowning…..Some of them don’t realise the lifeguards will rush to help them in any emergency, they forget they can ask the more experienced swimmers for help at any time….For some its all too much as they look towards the deep end of the pool far away in the distance and think “ No I can’t do it, I’ll never be able to swim that far, I’ll be out of my depth “…Completely forgetting that those swimmers they can see in the distance, diving in, swimming and generally having a good time had once stood where they are now, consumed with the same feelings of fear and inadequacy…So some of them go home, never to return…
The ones who stay, a few of them may decide to sit on the side of the pool just long enough to gather their courage to perhaps have another go…And then a well meaning relative or friend may come up and give them a push into the water thinking they are helping…That never works, you have to decide for yourself when you are ready to get into the water and lift your feet off the bottom…So they opt out as well…
The last few who are left, who decided to give it a go, they are the ones who have the confidence to lift their feet, make the first few strokes…Sometimes they don’t quite get it right and disappear under the water for a few seconds, but they bob up again, coughing and spluttering….Another few give up at this stage because they think its getting too difficult and they will never make it…
Then we come to the ones who think its worth another try…They are the ones who realise they can’t do this properly on their own so they ask for and are given help….For some, it will be one to one swimming lessons, for others a pair of water wings or a float will do, but its only until they get used to swimming on their own and it becomes part of there normal routine…
Gradually as time goes on these novice swimmers can be seen swimming further and further down the pool, starting to gain confidence and a belief in themselves that their goal is attainable…Where they once thought “ This is too difficult, I’m going to fail “ they now look back at the shallow end and think “ Why was I so scared?, I can do this “…Then the magic, when they look forward and realise the deep end of the pool is almost within reach….
And then we come to the deep end, here people are diving in from the high board, doing back flips off the side, swimming across the pool underwater, filled with confidence not fear, knowing that what they are able to do now is achievable, with practice, by anyone….After all, don’t forget, they were once standing at the shallow end themselves, scared to take their feet off the bottom….
So if this is your first visit to this swimming pool, and you are standing in the shallow end, frightened and shivering, overwhelmed by it all, look down towards the deep end by all means, but don’t be intimidated by the distance you will have to swim to get there…Enjoy the shallow end, splash around, lift your feet off the bottom now and then, watch your confidence grow, and one day when you reach the deep end you will look back and be amazed at the distance you have travelled……
I have just re-read this and it made me realise the distance I have swum….My very first post on here consisted of one line!!!!! Which read,
“ Yes, help me please, I love the taste of alcohol, but I desperately want to cut down on my drinking “…
Now I am looking over my shoulder at the distance I have travelled, and I know that the deep end where all the hard work pays off and the good life begins is getting nearer and nearer each day….
Keep Sober, Love from Louise xxxx
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