Hanging One

Let me preface this entry by saying that lately, I have been surfing a lot. Since my first semester of acupuncture school ended about 3 weeks ago, I have basically been surfing everyday.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I am not an excellent surfer. But over the past few months, as I have been working on perfecting my "cutbacks" and "noseriding" skills (I longboard a lot), I feel like I am not fighting the ocean as much as I used to. And let me tell you, it is a good feeling.

Any surfer will tell you that spending time in the water is a very relaxing experience. Even if a huge set comes in and you are "caught inside", the process of catching and riding waves leaves one with a feeling of joy that only a surfer can appreciate. Yet, this feeling isn't an easy thing to articulate. In the film "The Endless Summer 2", an African surfer named Gerald, who by the way couldn't swim, put it best when he said (and I quote), "Yes I like to surf, I like the ocean. When I am surf, if I have the problem, I don't think about the problem. I am waiting on many waves."As I have been waiting on the "many waves" that old Gerald spoke of, I have realized a few things about the energy of the ocean, the waves, and my life.

Some people claim that surfing is a religion. These same people will argue that surfing, in the most simple of ways, is a microcosm of life as a whole; everything is contained between the rhythm of the sea and the fiberglass of a surfboard.

I am a believer.

Let me explain: In my day to day existence, I notice that the more I try to control what happens, the less control and ultimately the less fun life becomes. In surfing, the fun starts when you let the wave do the work. I believe that life operates in a very similar way...if you let it.

The question then becomes: what the hell am I supposed to do? How do I find the balance? The answer: you wait for the waves.

The waves will always come. The key is that the surfer must always be in the right position, and always perceptive of where and when the wave will break. If one is not in the right spot, the wave will pass you by, or will push you over the falls.

There is always a minimal amount of energy that is required to catch a wave, (ie. paddling) but after that the wave provides the energy. The surfer then becomes a participant on a spontaneous and almost effortless journey across the water. Further, the wave provides a canvas for the surfer's own artistic and creative expression. It is one of the most rewarding and exhilarating experiences the world has to offer.

And let me repeat once again....the WAVES WILL ALWAYS COME. Sometimes there are lulls, long periods without waves, but if you wait with patience and presence, you will get your ride, and it will be beautiful.

The message I am trying to get across in my surfing symbolism is that you don't have to be in the water to catch your waves; they are everywhere. When you live life with awareness and intention, you will be in the right spot when opportunity rolls in.

Remember, you can't control the waves. When you stop fighting the urge and let them provide the ride....the ride will come. It will come indeed.

"Surfing is the source. It will change your life."

"Utah, Get me two.....two."
(My other favorite quote from POINT BREAK)

-Tyler (Purely stoked)