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The river is my front garden: cold water swimming and the nervous system

The river is my front garden: cold water swimming and the nervous system

I have lived on a floating island for long enough now that certain things have become non-negotiable. You do not fight the river. You do not ignore the tide. You do not assume the weather will cooperate.

The metaphors write themselves. But they also happen to be literally true.

Living on water teaches you, daily, that control is an illusion held together by good plumbing and a decent anchor. Everything moves. The light moves. The seasons move. The ducks have opinions.

And somehow, in all that movement, something in you settles. Because when the external world is never still, you have to find stillness inside yourself. It's not philosophical. It's practical.

Whatever your version of the river is — find it. Get near it as often as you can.

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Cold Water Swimming and Nervous System Regulation — Anna Lou Wellness