This week in my Block and Flow Adventures I am exploring the base chakra.  Mother Earth.  Gaia.  Earth Energy.  Safety Security.  Clearing of that which is no longer needed.  Fullfilling Needs. Connection with our base and strength.

I woke up late because I brought my phone upstairs which made the snooze button accessible.  So not the best idea. Got up at 8 instead of 5 but felt quite rested and shrugged it off because I am on holiday and I have no photography clients to concern myself with in the afternoon.  It was a stunning day so I decided to clear some clutter from the house and take it to the Salvation Army and then go to the Blueberry Farm for a swim.  

Now the stars align about once a year where there is absolutely no one on the farm but the sheep, it hasn’t opened for the season, and the water is above freezing.  Last year was the first time I had drawn up the nerve and actually went skinny dipping in broad daylight.   I was raised Catholic.  I was also raised as a plus sized woman in a Western Culture.  To say I had body acceptance issues was the understatement of the year.

The Catholic side made nakedness shameful.  Then society said it was fine to be as naked as you wanted as long as you were airbrushed and had a thigh gap.  Yeah…Nah.  Plus sized even in bootcamp.  So to have taken the plunge last year was a huge step.  It had taken quite a few years of consciously working to shed some mental baggage and learn to love and accept my body with all of its socially challenging extra bits while at the same time working to bring it the most amount of health possible.  Today was a day of both.   Swimming and releasing and pushing boundaries.

So back to today.  I rock up the farm  and as I said there is absolutely no one there.   I take it as my one and only opportunity to have a skinny dip.  It was scorching hot outside, I had time, I had privacy.  I was in heaven.  Stripped down and inched my way into the icy water (it rained yesterday so it was particularly nippy).   But clean and beautiful and delicious.

I never realized how protective a bathing suit is.  When that cold water hit my cervix I let out some less then holy commentary to the dragonflies.

Anyhow I finally got acclimatized and went under.  It was heaven absofreakinglutely heaven on earth.  Just floating.  Fat jiggling but supported.  Two gynormous H cup life preservers bobbing up and down in the water.   I’m just sayin.  I would have totally rocked that whole Titanic thing.

Now a bit of backstory about how amazing New Zealand is.   First and most importantly because of my current naked alone in the water situation you have to understand that there are no animals in New Zealand that can kill you.  There is a spider that will make you ill but that is it.   And they are pretty rare.  There is only one native mammal which is a bat.  The rest are birds, fish, and little lizards.  So when you go into the bush for a walk you don’t have to worry about snakes or bears, or mountain lions.  And when you swim, no piranhas, or crocodiles, or water moccasins.  Heaven.  I have swum in this swimming hole for 12 years and only once did I see a trout.  This farm where i am swimming my son’s dad and I bought after coming to visit and picking blueberries one summer.  It was heaven.  We raised our son here and I gave the farm back to David when we parted and I became a photographer but I still come back and enjoy it.  David was away and so there was no one around.  I was in complete and utter heaven.

I was laying on a rock and felt something touch my foot.  I jumped a mile and then laughed at myself.   It must have been a rock rolling.

Then I went to another deeper section and dove down deep deep deep.  Making a humming noise as I came up with my eyes open in the water.  Beautiful.   A few more deep dives.  I think I was in the water a total of about 4o minutes.  It was amazing.  I decided I had had enough and started to get out when something touched my foot again.  I turned around to see an eel the size of my leg sniffing my foot.   I became Messiah like as I actually think I walked on water getting out of there.   Absolutely shit myself.  So did the eel.

I got up to the top and started putting my clothes back on not believing what had happened.  Twice he had come up and “sniffed” me.  No bites… just curious.

As I was putting my hat on I turned to look back in the water and he came by again to check me out one more time.  Just enough time for me to catch a wee bit of video.

What an amazing day.  It was like seeing a real life Taniwha…but a friendly one ultimately.

I had to sit there on the shore and think about what had just happened.  I was sad at first that my once sacred swimming hole would now hold a fright for me but then I realized that I would just have to face my fears.  The worst thing that could happen would be a nip.  But he had two chances at that and didn’t go there.   Life is kind of like that.  There is always a chance that shite could get real real.  But can you imagine me never going back here just because of a wee fright.  Heck no…but I will probably wear flippers and bring goggles next time.  Now that would be a sight skinny dipping.

What did I learn from a Chakral perspective.  Well this chakra is about connecting with mother nature.  I think that seriously happened here.   Got a good fright but realized that at the end of it I was protected and supported and hell I now have a good story to tell.   What incredibly abundance.   I certainly left pumped full of energy.

Cheeky visitor