Walking the precipice with a new born baby or is it transformation jitters?

This is my 4th week of swimming and I finally have my lungs/body back in better shape, the task may be under control. I can swim 32 laps under 30 minutes now...even if I'm pulled off course by a few outlanders that wander into the swimming lane. But yesterday something really distracted me for almost my entire 32 laps.

Some background first:

The Foxcroft pool is shaped like a truncated "T". The swimming lane is marked on one side by a prominent lane marker running the full length of the main part of the pool and on the other side is a thin rope with 5 blue and white buoys, that mark off the deep end from the swimming lane. 5 feet under this rope is a precipice that quickly slopes down to 12 feet. The swimming lane is about 4 feet wide.

Hopefully you can see the pool in your mind's eye. Now imagine that I'm in the swimming lane, swimming. Now, the part that freaked me out, imagine a man holding a new born baby in his arms, walking slowly along this precipice and the thin rope and buoys. As the waves created by my swimming lap against him, the man cradles the baby in his arms as he walks, his shoulders noticeably raised to bring his arms up so the baby's head is out of the water. Their eyes are locked in a loving gaze. The baby is loving every minute and the man, I assume the father seems like he has everything under control, not a worry in the world. And the life guard glances down every so often, but she 's not at all concerned either.

I did say that my lungs/body are fine...But my mind is a mess.

I'm swimming. Watching them. Worrying and swimming...15 laps, 20 laps...25 laps. Then an epiphany...an insight. A connection to last week's CFM forum on transformation.

The man and new born represented my new adventure/journey into Quakerism. Am I walking on the ledge like the man and baby? Am I holding precious cargo too? My soul? Will I survive this journey? Yes. Yes. Yes and yes.

The fear fell away on the 30th lap.

The essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing or experience in terms of another.