A Labor Day Labor of Love
Even the sharks left her alone on her 110 mile, 53 hour swim from Havana, Cuba to Key West, Florida. She swam without a shark cage, the first person in history to do so. This was her fifth attempt. Over 35 years. Toil, tears, tribulation. Did I mention that Diana Nyad is 64 years old? You rock, lady!
Three things she wanted people to know about her and this trip: never give up, you’re never too old, and even though it looks like a solitary sport, swimming is a team effort. She could not have done this alone. If you think about it, most of life is a team effort.
Diana Nyad made the front page of USA Today, The Arizona Republic, and most impressively, her photograph was on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. She probably made the papers where you live as well.
Whether or not you swim, or even care about swimming, this is history happening. It’s the history of how our thoughts, beliefs, and actions are changing the aging process. It benefits every body.
Her first attempt was 1978, when Diana was 29 years old. The second attempt came 33 years later, in 2011. That’s a long time to chase a dream. Every day is practice day waiting for another attempt. Every day taking care. Every day visualizing, working on endurance, eating just the right foods, gaining support from the right people, avoiding the naysayers. Every day. Every day.
At 64, Diana Nyad is an inspiration to anyone who wants to challenge the concept of aging on someone else’s terms. Baby boomers have redefined what it means to age, and Diana Nyad is out there in front, leading the pack.
How about you? What is your dream that keeps you alive, keeps you pressing forward in the face of staggering odds, that keeps you young enough and naive enough to believe that your dream is achievable? The dream may be to do something spectacular, or it may be to age with faculties intact, mind still alert, body still moving well, and making your own choices. This swimmer allows us to believe that it’s possible.
Diana Nyad is Aging Intelligently on Labor Day, 2013.