f course I believe in magic, but it's not the magic of wizards waving wands or casting spells, it's the magic we make ourselves with our minds, our will and our wit, with our willingness to embrace a dream, with our courage to love unconditionally and our vision to recognize and acknowledge the magic we help create.
In the 2nd issue of "Well" in the Fall of '99 the theme was "Human Potential" and I wrote an article
"Three Unreasonable People: The Best Lecture I Never Gave." It was a magical class; I knew it; as did everybody in the room. It involved 3 student presentations, each of which told of triumphs in the face of ridiculous odds. I am still in contact with two of the three, one of whom, Simon Ibell, has been working at Speakwell. Simon's story was featured in the Spring "Well" 2003 and titled "Per Ardua Ad Astra" and culminated with him receiving the "Spirit of Sport" award on National TV despite the fact that he was the only finalist without an Olympic medal.
The story of Rob Dyke is still unfolding. He and his friend, Ian Scanlon, allotted themselves a year to try to achieve an extraordinary personal goal. Ian attempted Everest without oxygen and with minimum support (mostly Rob).
He got within 300 meters of the summit but had to turn back for fear of losing fingers and toes. (There was not enough oxygen to generate a chemical reaction in his heat packs.) It should be noted that not content with climbing Everest, they walked across India to get there. (Rob has promised a future story for "Well" about India, including his list of "The 10 worst jobs in the world".)
Currently, Rob is half way to completing an almost impossible journey. His goal is to swim (yes, swim!) nearly 1000 miles (about 1500 kilometers) around Vancouver Island. The water temperature is in the 50's F (between 80 and 130 Celsius) and for much of the way, his sole support has been Ian in a Zodiac. He is often swimming close to a marathon a day and has dealt with winds, waves, tides, fog, jellyfish, sea lions and mind numbing, face breaking, bone chilling cold. For the next few days he'll be beyond the reach of cell phones and the World Wide Web as he attempts to round the desolate North end of the Island. After the first day of his swim, he ate dinner with Nancy and myself at our house on a hot summer night. Even though he'd been out of the water for 2 hours, Rob sat huddled in a toque, sweater, poncho and sweat pants looking like someone at a prairie football stadium in mid-winter. He was somewhat subdued, as the enormity of what was confronting him could not be ignored.
One of my rules for life is to "show up" and day after day, Rob has shown up to his challenge and he's discovering magic in the inhospitable waters off the North Coast of the Island. Members of the Haida Nation have lined the shore to shout encouragement, a middle-aged man showed up in a Zodiac and told Rob he had been inspired to fulfill his own dreams. Rob's last email in tinged with magic.
To my friends Martin and Nancy,
Last update for a while as we are leaving Cape Scott for parts unknown. It has been an incredible 5 weeks adventure and we are almost halfway there. In the early morning mist this morning a pod of Orcas (Killer Whales) inspected me and swam along with me for a while like an honor guard. The presence of the whales was so powerful. and it was a truly magical moment.
My spirits were lifted by a pocket cruise ship, the Princess of Oceana, which slowed right down and tracked me for 45 min. They lowered a boat and 2 crewmembers dropped off $360 US in donations for the Red Cross. (A neat coincidence considering my 360-degree swim). But it's not all been cruise ships and Orcas. Three days ago we struggled 25 km through some horrible fog to discover that we were only 10 km from our starting point. I also swallowed a jellyfish (my revenge for all the stings) then vomited up jellyfish.... Ugh. It's been one amazing journey. My time in Nepal seemed to provide me with the odd combination of focussed detachment necessary to deal with endless hours in the water.
The cold, the sores from the wet suit, the jellyfish stings are real, but almost irrelevant. This is not about swimming, it's about transformation and the magic of the mind and however far I get I'll be a changed man next time you see me.
All my best and thanks for your support and wishes.
Robbie
Update on Rob's swim
I spoke with Rob on the phone from a tiny haven called Winter Harbour (population 11). He is now operating from a live-aboard fishing boat with a makeshift hot tub, as there is nowhere to stay along much of the Northwest of the Island. To the amazement of the 1st Nations fishermen, he has swum around Cape Scott, and has the tremendous psychological boost of knowing each kilometer from now on brings him closer to Victoria. The 1st Nation's mariners have lost many colleagues around the North of the Island and have acknowledged the fortitude of a man who is swimming through waters they regard as a death sentence.
Rob says he no longer thinks of himself as a swimmer. He's some sort of guest in the huge West Coast waves, just a tiny wet suited speck of life in the massive Pacific. His body hurts from the constant buffeting, his stomach is in turmoil long after he leaves the ocean but he's sentient and focussed and beginning to allow for the possibility of success. But there's hundreds of miles ahead and the ocean may or may not permit him to survive along a coastline that has broken so many ships. |
A Premature End to Rob's Journey
Just when it seemed possible that the complete circumnavigation might become a reality, the ocean intervened. There is an area of the West Coast called the Brooks Peninsula, which seems to create its own weather system. The conflicting Japanese and Alaska currents converge around Brooks, the tides are powerful and the wind and waves ruthless. Rob rounded the Peninsula but got into some roiling water that had such force and torque that it literally pulled his left arm out of its socket. He actually swam the dislocation back into place, but the ligaments and muscles were shredded and after telephone conversations with his surgeon in Victoria and two aborted attempts to carry on, he had to abandon the swim for this year.
Once Rob and Ian returned to Victoria we got together for a night of adventure stories, laughter and champagne. The stories all seemed to blend together as we watched video of the swim, talked about India and Everest and about the freedom and peace which comes from living your dreams.
Rob's already planning attempt number 2 and, of course, you'll be able to read about it in 'Well'. For the record, he swam about 900 kilometers (560 miles) in a period of just over 2 months.
More Thoughts About Magic
My mantra for Rob was borrowed from "Field of Dreams", "Go the Distance" and he did.
The movie "Field of Dreams" is all about magic. The old doctor (Doc. Graham) asks, "Is there enough magic out there in the moonlight to make dreams come true?" the answer of course is, "Yes".
I always enjoyed the thinking of psychologist Wayne Dyer, who wrote books titled "Real Magic" and "You'll See it When You Believe It", which is the essence of "Field of Dreams." To me it seemed quite appropriate that the Field is located in the town of Dyersville, Iowa. (I wonder if Wayne knows that?) One magical aspect of the Field which attracts thousands of visitors, is that the family who live in the farmhouse featured in the film and own the land, charge no admission and provide a selection of bats, balls and gloves, so parents and their children can actually hit the ball and "have a catch" as it says in the movie.
As an aside, the town of Dyersville also has a place in the history of weight loss. In 1998, 383 people lost a total of 3998 lbs, which is described in an engaging and informative book called "The Town That Lost a Ton", published by Sourcebooks Inc., Illinois. Available through Amazon in Canada and in the US.
Magic is known by many names. To some it's mystery, to others the work of a God or Goddess. Dar Williams tells us that the "magic's in the learning" while others write it off as coincidence of synchronicity. Poets like William Blake and Wordsworth saw the whole universe as magical and the closer you looked, the more magical it became.
 | To see a world in a grain of sand
and a heaven in a wild flower,
hold infinity in the palm of your hand
and eternity in an hour.
~ William Blake |
Dar Williams expressed similar sentiments when she said "you find magic in your God. And we find magic everywhere."
I'll give the last words to Leonard Cohen, whose thoughts on magic often find their way into my presentations.
Extracts from "Magic is Alive"
Magic is alive. Alive is afoot. Magic never died.
Many hurt men wondered
Many struck men bled
Magic never faltered
Magic always lead
Many stones were rolled
But God would not lie down
Many wild men lied
Many fat men listened
Though they offered stones
Magic still was fed
Though laws were carved in marble they could not shelter men;
Though altars built in Parliaments, they could not order men;
Police arrested magic and magic went with them, ah!
For magic loves the hungry....
But magic would not tarry, it moves from arm to arm,
It would not stay with them;
Magic is afoot! It cannot come to harm.
It rests in an empty palm. It spawns in an empty mind.
But magic is no instrument: magic is the End!
Many men drove magic, but magic stayed behind; Many strong men lied.
They only passed thru magic and out the other side! This I mean to whisper to my mind:
This I mean to laugh with in my mind:
This I mean my mind to serve
'Til service is but magic, moving thru the world
And mind itself is magic, coursing thru the flesh
And flesh itself is magic, dancing on a clock,
And Time itself, the magic length of God!
