I took a polar dip once in the Arctic Ocean once. I made a little video about the experience, complete with a Laurie Anderson Superman track, because the point at the time was that I accomplished a feat on the plane of superlative individuation.
We describe many kinds of sensory overload and emotional triage as a kind of drowning. I think often of the Stevie Smith poem—waving not drowning (…) drowning not waving—when using drowning metaphors. It is supposed to be the worst way to die.
Today I think about the polarity of the water instead and what it might have meant to the ocean that I gave it such an honest attempt at a relationship. If I keeping looking up, maybe the water will wave back at me.