Swimming Naked

Summer nights and skinny-dipping. Ah, the risk, the romance! To be sure, most of us have no trouble remembering all the fun stuff that colored the beginning stages of our relationships. We seem to find ourselves seduced into the waters of commitment, but, as time passes, all sorts of challenges lurk beneath those initial beckoning waves. Without a doubt, the connecting that once came so easily becomes hard. We feel like we are swimming in circles or in different directions. Many people panic, and their relationships go under. Instead, consider these conflicts as signals that you are moving into deeper waters.

Like deciding to scuba dive rather than stay on the surface, getting counseling can serve as advanced training for you as you take the challenge to learn to deepen your connection to one another. A good counselor can help you feel safe as you learn to take off layers of protection that may be keeping you from opening up to one another. Instead of throwing in the towel, or perishing in the rip tides that threaten relationships, take the dare to swim out deep. Take the dare to be more vulnerable, talking out loud instead of not at all or maybe slowing down and learning to listen. Take the dare to be close again and experience the delights of swimming naked.