The power of water
This is where I surf.
This morning I twisted my own arm and got up at 6:45 to go surfing. I am learning that the payoff of a longer day with which to do whatever I want is worth overlooking the desire to stay in a cozy bed (plus I know I've mentioned the awesomeness of the obligatory post-surf nap).
We got to the water just around eight and the day was simply glorious. Say what you will about Southern California - but when it's late November and the skies are clear and the water is 65 degrees, well, there aint much to complain about. I've only been surfing a couple times in the last month and a half and I've been struggling to regain the momentum I was maintaining for awhile. Today was the first day where I felt like I started to feel the waves again, where I wasn't making futile attempts over and over to meet the wave and let it carry me. I also started to get over my fear of other surfers and whether I'm in their way or not. I had a thought go through my head this morning, "how can I be worried about being in someone's way when we're all in the body of water that covers the entire earth?" It's damn big - and I'm pretty small comparatively, so I decided to lay the hell off my own back. This has made things much more fun.
Tonight I watched "An Inconvenient Truth" with friends and while it's terrifying to realize just how dire the global warming situation is, it somehow made me absolutely marvel at the fact that I'd started my day swimming in the very ocean that could someday rise high enough to overtake every house I've ever lived in. And that someday could be much sooner than "someday" sounds. I'm not sure what to make of that. In the face of a film that serves as a wake up call to all that we are doing wrong to protect our earth, I am realizing just how much I treasure it. Spending a couple hours a week in the ocean, wondering on the creatures around and below me - it takes away the separation between myself and the rest of the natural world that I often ignore as a so-called "evolved" species. When I am in the water I am truly a part of the earth - at the whim of the waves, the mercy of any animals that might be bigger than me, or the bacterias I can't even see.
As I sit here and try to process this I find myself hoping that I can have the same sense of inclusion in the natural world when I'm on dry land - and that this will in turn help me to be a part of the solution to the waste, the apathy and the politics that get in the way of protecting our earth for future generations. Surfing has been but one blip on the radar of my life, but it continues to raise my awareness on so many different levels. I'm so glad I got over the fear that kept me out of the water for so long.
posted by Mood Indigo at 11:12 PM
6 Comments:
I really enjoyed this post -thank you.
Surfing! I am of a seaside tribe myself, but lost many years to landlock. I have never surfed (except in my dreams, where it happens every 3rd night and amongst the wrack and ruin of prior civilization [ours?]). I have envy for your ability to immerse yourself in a natural rhythm at seemingly anypoint of the year (it is mid-November).
There's so many ways we seem to be devouring our resources, who'd have expected a 'temperate climate' to be among them.. it has yet to properly snow in Montreal, and this is unheard of. Its going to affect us all, and there seems to be no recourse to action other than the spreading of awareness.. Should an inconvenient truth be watched MI?
H - thanks!
S'mat - Definitely worth a viewing. It wasn't what I expected but it gave tangible backing in so many ways to just how dire the situation is - but also hope that something can be done about it (you have to wait until the end for that though). Check it out and let me know what you think.
I too enjoyed this post.
I don't get many opportunities to be a part of raw nature, but the stillness always astounds me, as does the soul. It's humbling, isn't it?
sooooo humbling. Especially when you're being pummeled by a wave and unsure when you're going to surface (not that I ever find myself in that situation...ahem...)
You need to tell me how you learned. I bought a long board (9'6") a few months back. It remains on the roof of the Jeep.
Norcal surf is not 65 degrees and I need to lose weight to get in my surf wetsuit (I did get a 3-4-3 on Craigslist for a guy my size for $50...but I need to drop 20).
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