Letting go of the breath I had been holding in, I open my eyes.

The beautiful vastness of the Lake is before me.

Sometimes she rages with whitecaps and fierce currents. Today, she caresses the sand with her gentle lapping. Inviting me into her open embrace.

It’s early morning the Sun is already hot.

I drop my dress and wade in. Diving under, the cold hits me, opening my brain, my soul, my being. Engulfed, my skin is tingling, my lungs are bursting, and my hair is flowing.

I stay under and swim out. Turning over to my back, I slowly float to the surface.

My face toward the sky, I am encased in a wet, living body. A deep place full of life and death. She holds me, and I am safe.

I stand, belly-deep, swaying with the waves. Breathing. She is spread out wide, loving, and comforting.

Within her embrace, with the drops of her running down my body, I am washed.