The ocean is my Guru

Exert from my journal back in January...

Here I sit on a beautiful beach in Sri Lanka. It has a fabulous beach break with barely any surfers, which is heaven. I am drinking in the of every aspect of this place - the colour of the ocean, the strength of the waves, the glitter of wet sand in the sunlight and the vibrant contrast of the green palm trees against the deep blue of the sky. Everything so tranquil, still, soothing yet vibrant. 

As my love affair with the ocean intensifies, I am humbled as a student to this great master and what it has to teach me. I feel the ocean is a metaphor for life, the way we interact with the sea is a reflection of how we deal with every day situations. I watch as some people paddle at the shore, unwilling to venture into the smashing waves for fear of moving out of their comfort zone. Other more daring candidates delve in deeper embracing the roar of the waves. And this is the key - you must embrace that fear, embrace the rush and let it push you on to explore the edges of your boundaries. If you do this with tension or frustration, you will always be met with the same back, so it's important to move with a sense of excitement and ease. Transform your fear into the curiosity of a child discovering something new, unaware of the possible consequences. 

This is the lesson I learnt today out in the water. After a good 90 minutes of paddling for numerous waves, I was getting frustrated and impatient. With high expectation of what I wanted to achieve, I forgot the reason I was actually there - for fun! As I battled on, tense and aggravated, I managed to get on a big wave, but due to my frustration I lost my nerve at the crucial drop in moment and got completely wiped out. Held under and disorientated, I panicked and scrabbled about only to be tumbled through another wave and another before I could catch a breath. Coming up for air, pride dented and frankly feeling pissed off with myself, I crawled into the shore like a wet cat. It was only on reflection I realised that I should have been super stoked that I was out in the big swell anyway and ballsy enough to try and catch a wave. It was much bigger than the other days I had been out catching waves. And when I had been wiped out before, I could happily hold my breath and relax underwater so I would pop up naturally.

My surfing to date has cultivated a deep respect for the sea and an understanding that we must roll with the punches and enjoy the ebb and flow of life in all its glory - whether it's an up or a down, a rough paddle out or a sweet ass wave, a wipe out or smooth glassy waves on sunrise... whether you fight it or flow with it, it's still there so roll with it and it will roll with you.