#64 š§ SEEKING but not necessarily FINDING š”

In brief š©²
- Journal: The barest exertion possible
- Practical: Testudo that calendar
- Read: Be found for weird and wonderful things
- Quote: The twitch-tickling problem of getting squiff-squiddled
From the journal š

Recently, while swimming lengths, I couldnāt help but notice the guy in the shallow lane next to me. Now, Iām not going to criticise the way he flailed his arms out sideways, or bobbed his head upright for most of the way, or the way he would intermittently put his feet down and push off the bottom.
It didnāt look like he was unable to swim ā more that he lacked conviction. I wondered, as he took one of many breaks, whether he actually thought he was getting exercise. If he just wanted to feel the lightness of being enveloped by water, to feel the cool of it on his skin, then good on him. Enjoy the water, friend.
But if exercise is what he was after, I felt like saying to him ā as he exited the pool at about the same time Iād done 35 lengths and heād done maybe 7, Ā most of them just... walking ā hey, youāre not exactly exerting yourself, friend. What kind of progress are you hoping for?
Perhaps this is harsh. This might just represent the beginning of a swimming habit for this guy. (āIf I can just get myself to the pool regularly, thatās step one. Then Iāll work his way up to doing some of the actual swimming.ā)
I just hope heās not kidding himself. Did you really āgo to the trackā if you just went down there and didnāt run anywhere? Did you really āgo to the gymā if you just went and sat around? Did you really ādo researchā if just went to the library and had a coffee?