A perfect stroke to touch the divine

"It's a great art, is rowing. It's the finest art there is. It's a symphony of motion and when you're rowing well, why it' nearing perfection. You're touching the divine. It touches the you of yous, which is your soul." -George Pocock

I never thought myself an artist until I happened upon this quote. Nor did I recognize myself as a musician contributing to the "symphony of motion". A trained ear can detect the slightest aberration in performance and cringe at sour notes while the average ear would not arouse. Similarly, a rower feels the discomfort of an offset boat by the dip in their oar, back splash of a rush, and the eagerness for realignment. Pocock makes an understatement when he says, "when you're rowing well why it's nearing perfection," because the consistency in skill to row "well" is beyond the definition of such adjective. A perfect stroke may not result in the perfect motion if the other oarsmen do not participate in the intentional synchronization. When sweeps are off time or balance, the divine feeling of floating or flying across the water is lost. But the accordant effort collectively makes one perfect stroke feel like the imbalances were all worth it. And maybe the rowers complete two or more synchronized strokes; it is the initial pull that strikes the rower's souls through the oar cutting out of the rushing water to "[touch] the divine". The boat feels as though it is floating in weightless effort to maintain in such a tingling presence. Tingles, a deep gasp in this divine moment preserves the memory of what it feels like to operate harmoniously with everything within oneself and the surroundings, so much so that a longing for another touch at the divine never ceases. The peering into the divine essence of perfection is a look at one's own soul. Beauty and perfection take root as one continues the effort towards self-awakening moments such as that of a perfect stroke.

Sutherlan Spruck