Many humans on this planet – an estimated 5 billion people – frequently check their Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and other social media and communications platform throughout the day and night. It is said that the average person spends 2 hours 25 minutes on social media every single day.
Then there is checking emails, keeping track of news, listening to music, responding to WhatsApp messages, texting, and simply keeping track of friends, celebrities, sports, and politicians.
The smartphone, the tablet, the laptop, the computer are certainly wants to feed connected and informed about the world and others in a profoundly addictive way.
At work, at home, during travels, at the gym while exercising, and on commutes to work or school, most people are scrolling, reading, posting, forwarding, commenting, and liking constantly throughout the day.
There seems to be no break in the onscreen action and attention.
Contemporary society is not like yesteryear (i.e., the previous century), where television stations of the past used to sign off the air late at night and then resume programming in the morning.
Parents, grandparents, and great grandparents of the current younger generations of today remember when broadcasters would literally turn in for the night. No one young nowadays could imagine such a society.
Nowadays, the constant noise of news, music, photos, videos, and the inability to create, share, like, and discover new content is easy – when we step offshore and venture beyond the shoreline in lakes, oceans, seas, bays, and rivers.
Open water swimming allows our minds to wander – we generally cannot hear anything and our sight is limited. We can constantly ponder random thoughts, contemplate specific ideas, aimlessly wonder about possibilities, sing our favorite songs, and be introspective as possible about our own lives, dreams, worries, obstacles, and opportunities. No one bothers us and no one influences where our minds can go.
The freedom of thought while swimming is a wonderfully refreshing opportunity to reflect and consider our own limitations or possibilities.
We can dream big in the open water. Swim and inspire ourselves.
Photos above show Neil Agius who completed an unprecedented 142.3 km marathon swim around the islands of Malta, Gozo, and Comino in the Mediterranean Sea. The 38-year-old had a lot of time to think – both in training and during his 60 hour 30 minute swim this week
© 2024 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline“
A World Open Water Swimming Federation project.