By Jenna Ebener
A reflection
One beautiful fall Sunday morning, I felt rested enough to take advantage of the one brief period each week when my local indoor pool sets up 50-meter lanes. I feel most at home in water and am excited to have access to long swim lanes. I thought it might be a little quieter if I got to the pool at the beginning of the hour-and-a-half window. Thank to Daylight Savings Time, I arrived as the pool opened at 8 a.m.
I was not expecting the swarm of people waiting outside for the doors to open. I hoped most of the people were there for the exercise equipment, not the pool. I hurried to take off my outer clothes so I would not have to worry about finding a lane. It reminded me of Black Friday shoppers — everyone had the same mindset. Thankfully, the comparison ended there because everyone was very respectful.
As I got into a lane with another swimmer, I quickly realized that it did not matter who got to a lane first. There were so many of us that we would need to circle swim with three to four people in a lane. I have not had to circle swim since I was on the swim team as child but I quickly fell into the old pattern. I let the first swimmer in the lane start and waited until he was a safe distance away until I began to swim. As more swimmers joined our lane, we fell into an easy rhythm without having to say a word.
We all had a common goal, to swim our laps with minimal disruption. It did not matter how fast or slow or what stroke we swam. We each had the freedom to swim in the way that felt right for us while being mindful in passing one another. We were like a well-oiled machine, never running into each other and still swimming in the style and speed that felt right for us. As I finished my laps with the breaststroke, I noticed that same fluidity in every lane. I marveled at the unity displayed in such an individual sport.
This vision struck me: how great our world would be if all of us acted in this way. We each have our own beliefs, personality and purpose. Yet, our actions invariably affect others and vice versa. How much kinder would our world be if we approached each day with the attitude of a circle lap swimmer? What if we all realized that we could be true to ourselves while still being aware of our impact on others and that we all deserve respect.
We are a world divided and the only way we can achieve our common goal of living together in this world is to realize that we can all share the same lane no matter the differences in our beliefs. We all are beloved children of God and the more we can see that in ourselves, the more we will see that truth in others. “So in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others” (Romans 12:5).
(Jenna Ebener, a graduate of St. Ambrose University in Davenport, is a social worker at a school in Colorado for students with a combination of medical, cognitive and behavior disabilities. She relies on God every day to aid her on this wonderful, yet intense journey.)
