"Yes, you are dripping like a mermaid..." ~ Jane Eyre

'Thou rememberest
Since once I sat upon a promontory,
And heard a mermaid on a Dolphin's back
Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath,
That the rude sea grew civil at her song;
And certain stars shot madly from their spheres,
To hear the sea-maid's music.' ~ Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream

Oannes was worshipped by the Babylonians around 5000BCE. Early images of Oannes show him as a man wrapped in a fish cloak, but later the image evolved into the half-man, half-fish form in which he became more widely known. A civilizing force for the good, and light and life to his people, Oannes represented the positive values connected with the sea.
Oannes' goddess counterpoint was Atargatis (or, Atergatis, or in Greece, Derketo) a Semetic moon goddess who became the first official mermaid, being depicted with a fish's tail; fish were sacred to her. She and Oannes were said to be the parents of the legendary Semiramis, an historical queen of Babylon. Atargartis was an important fertility goddess, also representing the darker, night forces of love and their potentially destructive power. As Dea Syria, her cult reached as far as Britain; the migration of the ubiquitous mermaid had begun. Later this goddess became identified with Aphrodite...

My goal this summer is to swim like a mermaid.

Aside from her origins in Greek Mythology and lore from mariners, mermaid tales do not interest me since society has trivialized them. I never did like the fairy tale, I certainly disliked the animated film, I find the sexual symbolism trite, and I find many images of mermaids to be in poor taste.

The true beauty of a mermaid is her simple form; she is both a piece of the ocean and a piece of the earth.

A perfect balance of both.

To be completely submerged in water is dangerous; there is no sense of balance amidst the risk of tempests. To shift from wave to wave becomes pointless and banal; to constantly float is depressing aimlessness. To be completely on land is dangerous; there is no sense of flow to daily life and there is a risk of burnout. To jaunt from rock to rock becomes tiresome and frustrating; to constantly search for an oasis without the chance of finding one leaves a soul barren.

To swim like a mermaid means to enjoy the waves as they flow, but to seek dryer land when she sees a tempest approaching. To swim like a mermaid means to understand the importance of staying grounded and rock solid, but to indulge in an oasis as often as she can. To swim like a mermaid means to feel the balance of both worlds of the depths of the ocean and heights of the land.

Hence, my goal this summer is to swim like a mermaid...