I use the word near because I was indeed near the pool, not in the pool.
It's Marcus' fault, sort of.
Sixteen months ago, I was swimming laps in my local pool for exercise (and a sort of moving meditation) five to six days a week. Then I got an outer ear infection (apparently common for regular chlorine swimmers - though it was my first). It got me to thinking that if chlorine can disrupt the balance of my ear, it's probably not the best thing. A few months later, my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. For two years prior, she had been doing water aerobics in a chlorinated pool three to five days a week. No one can know for certain if this cause, contributed or is correlated to her cancer, but Marcus (who became her health adviser soon after her diagnosis) recommended she cease all chlorine pool swimming.
One of my friends at the chlorine pool basically implied that even though he knows chlorine is not good for you, he thinks worrying about chlorine is not good either and potentially worse (since he decided to go into the pool).
I agree. Worry is not good, or at the very least, it's unproductive and worst, detrimental to health and life-shortening.
I told him I didn't necessary worry about it, just made choices about what felt right for me. If I really wanted to go swimming, I would. But I can still have fun just hanging out. (It makes me miss growing up in Minnesota - land of ten thousand fresh water lakes.)
But it did make me wonder. Am I worrying about chlorine or pollution or toxins we're exposed to on a regular basis? Maybe. Part of why I eat organic 90% of the time is because I live in Los Angeles, and a lot of my pollution/toxic exposure is pre-determined by where I choose to live and breathe. So I figure, at this point I choose LA, so I'm exposed to certain toxins, I might as well eat as healthy as possible to help my body with all the "unavoidable" toxic exposure. Get my drift?
Anyway, I do believe I worry less than I used to. Though worry seems to be passed down from both sides of my family. The decreased worry in me is also part Marcus' fault... I'd been releasing worry from my life before he and I got together, but he has been a model for me, in a way. He has what many would call a "terminal" illness and he's not worried. Why should I worry about being late, car repair bills or chlorine? I'm still working on worrying less about Marcus. I do get a little protective of him sometimes given his health stuff...though there are signs his body and kidneys are...waking up. Yay! Horray!
Finally, I get to my point. We make choices every day, without worry. Let's say you prefer not to wear clothing, generally. You still choose to wear clothes when you go out into the world, right? (At least in most environments/circumstances.) Does it cause you worry when you choose to wear clothes? Probably not, you just put something on.
Well, that's how I'm approaching my choices about health, lifestyle and chlorine pools. My gauge for whether I'm worrying or not? If I have a furrow in my brow, anxiety in my body, or thoughts of future apocalypse in my brain, I'm probably worry-laden. If I'm smiling (a real smile), happy, and even playful about navigating through my choices (whether in the usually polluted LA-air or the remarkably clean Minnesota air), then I'm probably just flowing and choosing.
I prefer the latter.
More Interesting Katie Strand World Posts
- A New Homeostasis, the third installment
- Memorial Day Dreams
- A New Homeostasis
- Boobies & Kittens...especially for overcast days
- The One-Minute Happiness Quiz
- Qi Pao! My hips in China
- Raw Milk has been pulled from Whole Foods shelves
- How Betty White deals with the Census
- Anxious or calm?
- Sunscreen may increase the risk of skin cancer!
- What happened to Kathleen Turner?
- Hairiosity!
- And All the Cows Said Moo, TWO!
- A Luke-warm Mess
- Let Go! Your Children Know More Than You Think
- Are you hungry for change? So is Food, Inc.
- Liberating yourself from your own fears
- The smallest non-child, non-midget person I've ever seen
- Stupid trumps hot
- The 15 Things that Pasteurization Kills
- A hugging, laughing, happy mess
- The HPV vaccination could be more dangerous than what it "prevents"
- Is Jake Pavelka a douche bag?
- It's all about interpretation
- Have you forgotten how glorious you are?
- The best reason for DONUTS
- Dr. Mercola recommends raw milk!
- We'd all be pillars of salt
- James Cameron was robbed!
- What do you want?
- The Real British Invasion or...Hey there Brit, how's your American accent?
- Andre Agassi is now Open
- Farts
- Love & Hate. Drugs & Rebellion.
- Occam's Razor - It's a Life & Faith Principle
- If Richard Pryor had a period...
- If you're prone to nudeness...
- Hello, my name is Temple Grandin.
- Blog tease, yelling to no one & the secret to long...
- My Addendum to "Choose a Job You Love..."
- The Primal Diet & Running
- Chop Wood, Carry Water, Do Taxes
- The male member revealed
- Play with the Girls
- How to tame the psycho hose beast
- Oh boy, that's a good question! or How to Deal with the Census
- These boots were made for walking
- If I were a Ninja, I'd wear these shoes
- How my friend Sally became the new First Lady
- My Boyfriend has Autism...Maybe
- Raw Primal Papaya Custard - The Nectar of the Gods
- And All the Cows Said Moo!
- If you were John Mayer, you would too
- Tiredness - Varieties of and unforeseen side-effects
- Foreplay is overrated
- Food should be As God Intended or Why isn't everything we eat organic?
- Yelling - One of the Highest Forms of Compassion
- The Cove - Louie Psihoyos' Oscar speech & a guide on how to create change...
- My Favorite Things...Arrabiata Recipe - Fresh, Organic, Vegan or Primal
- My Favorite Shows on Television...or how David Duchovney & Jesus are likely Good in Bed
- The Hawaiian Islands and Washington D.C.'s sand-paper circle-jerk about Health Care
- My Buddha has Termites...A Lesson in Infinite Joy
- The One-Date-Wonders!
- I had to learn SIGN LANGUAGE when I moved to Los Angeles
- Guys can make a game out of anything
- Hello? The power of CONNECTING and how technology has changed things
- Popping the question is better than porn!
- Bravo, Stephen Colbert & Co! and your Olympic Vancouverage
- Songwriting is like SEX
- Born To Run by Christopher McDougall - Inspiring a inspiring all of us to be more in the FLOW
- A moment of silence for all the plastic surgery casualties
- Ricky Gervais should be the new Simon on American Idol
- Muscle SURPRISE! The key to physical, mental & emotional fitness
- I think my boyfriend's a snake...
- Release... Sweat & Power
- MY FAVORITE THINGS! - Vibram's Five Fingers
- Dick Morris... How do you sleep at night?
- Rusty DePass, Gorillas, and Obama, oh my!
- Michael Jackson - Troubled Genius
