Best show on Earth

I'm still on the fence about whether or not we have past lives, but if I did indeed live before, I must have done something exceptionally awesome to deserve what I have now. Every time I step outside of my apartment and head in the direction of the beach, 50 m away, I arrive to a view that makes me feel giddy like a kid who finally found that rare baseball card for his collection. My eyes are wide with excitement, a spontaneous smile sneaks up, and my heartbeat accelerates.


What's in front of me is more interesting than any television show - something I can watch endlessly, always finding the day's episode captivating. Today, the water is unusually calm with only a few white foamy tips crowning the waves colour of surgical steel. The wind is strong. So strong that it picks up the sand and flings it at me, making my skin sting - attack of a myriad of tiny but very angry bees. I'm persuaded to cut my bathing time short, and find rescue in the winter waters.


How generous. It's spotlessly sunny, and I own this part of the beach. The wind is scaring off most of the sun worshipers, and the water temperature has already intimidated them. The Brazilian dedication to the beach is not enough to put up with goosebumps and ears plugged with sand. So not only do I have a large patch of land now, I also am the temporary proprietor of the water. I walk into the waves without a pause. Even if I was having doubts about whether the temperature is agreeable enough, the waves that seemed so benign from further away are now rolling towards me, threatening to knock me over. They effortlessly lift me off my feet and dip me in, leaving me no choice about the pace of submersion.


Now I'm acclimatized without the need to ponder about how many timid steps forward and much-more-confident ones backward it'll take to get in. I start paddling energetically, using my face as a wave-breaker. I splash, wiggle, twirl and smile like an idiot who doesn't mind paying the price of swallowing salt water for smiling aimlessly. I feel absolutely free and complete. The further I swim into the boundlessness, the more weightless I feel. I melt into the ocean, and gladly accept its total control.