therealwil.com

SINK or SWIM!! What a concept. Not very wordy but yet so powerful and extreme. I thought I might do a little research and see if I could find the origin of this small phrase. Merriam-Webster.com says, Sink or Swim is used to refer to a situation in which someone either must succeed by his or her own efforts or fail completely. Another unreliable source said something about women who were assumed to be witches being thrown into lakes to either sink or swim. I don’t remember if floating meant she was a witch or not. I kept turning.

What about natural born swimmers? Can dogs drown? Yes. Are all dogs born with a natural instinct to swim? No, they have a natural desire to survive and may figure out what to do with those legs if thrown in. Some dogs are bred as water dogs such as standard poodles, Labrador and Golden retrievers. On the other hand, French bulldogs, Pugs, and Basset hounds are not good swimmers. Head weight, short legs, and body configurations play big parts in the potential of these dogs sinking rather than stay afloat. Are humans born swim ready? The quick and correct answer is NO. Like dogs, I think we all have a natural instinct to SURVIVE. We have survival skills not swimming skills. You notice no one says, “Hey let’s go surviving!!” Here are two surprising facts today for someone. All dogs cannot swim and secondly, all people can’t either.

I’m sure this information has gotten to some folks a bit late. You got it after you tossed the family dog into the pool. You all stood around looking for the swim part but got the sink instead. I wish parents would have received this info prior to throwing their child in pool as well. Hopefully, instinct kicked in and they survived. Possibly a bit traumatized with some water damage. When I was growing up, my father took us to East Chicago beach. It was there that swimming was going to take place rather you liked it or not. A swift push off the rocks into the chilly Lake Michigan was always a motivation to start stroking. Like dog owners, we are confident you’ll figure out to do with those legs and arms. I think people use the Sink or Swim ideology because it seems like a strong combatant over Fear. Fear immobilizes people. If you are afraid of the water and drowning, someone will come up with the great idea to push you in the pool.

So here it is, Sink, Survive, or Swim!! What looks like swimming strokes could actually be survival strokes. In this life, there are some risk to be taken. If you are going to swim, you gotta jump in!! Swimming lessons are not a bad idea either. I am at the place in my life where clearly I understand that you only LIVE ONCE. One shot one kill!! No risk No reward!! At some point, everything cannot be perfectly mapped out and orchestrated down to the last detail. Sometimes you just have to jump with the determination that I am going to SINK, SURVIVE, or SWIM!!! I don’t know about you but I’M GOING SWIMMING!!