How Do You Surf the Vicissitudes of Life?

RIDING THE WAVES OF LIFE

Q: How Do You Surf the Vicissitudes of Life?

A: I was only an ocean surfer for about 5 years of my life in my early 20s. I thought that because I had been raised on a snowboard there would be a natural translation of my ability from snow to waves. I was wrong. I didn’t realize how accustomed I had become to being strapped onto my board and knowing that Earth would catch me regardless of where I was jumping from. Surfing waves was a completely new frontier, one of fluidity and unknown.

Both mediums were a bit relentless on my body which was pretty malleable at the time. I can’t count how many trees I’ve wrapped myself around going warp speeds through powdery terrain. And thankfully I can count how many times I’ve almost drowned at sea, just once. However, both snowboarding and surfing have taught me so much about myself, and how I navigate life and I am incredibly thankful for the imperative lessons nature has offered me through them.

First Lesson: Courage

Whenever I try something new that is outside of my comfort zone, I notice a surge of energy arise, at the start this energy is 3 parts uncomfortable and 1 part exhilarating. Over time and as I grasp what I am learning, the discomfort begins to wane, and the exhilaration increases. Historically I’ve not been one to pause and overthink before doing anything that scares me, for better or worse I suppose lol. But honestly, I think it is for the better because I’ve not let fear get in the way of my decision-making, especially when my heart knows the way.

Surfing still brings up fear but the sweetness generally overrides it. There is so much unknown for a novice like me. And I feel this simply as a human being, waking up each day to meet the next set of waves. It can take an immense amount of courage to do this with integrity and grace and I am thankful to feel more steady as a surfer of life than I am on the board, somehow.

Second Lesson: Practice

Excelling at anything takes practice, and that just takes time. In high school, I was on the Snowboard team and was fortunate to leave by 1:00 pm every day with my teammates to hit the mountain resort until 4:00, get back in the car and then drive to the smaller town hill for night riding and gates until dinner time or around 7:00 pm. Luckily I lived on that mountain and could walk home even if it was 20 degrees below zero. It was a blessed and rigorous upbringing, full of discipline and punk rock. I was never as dedicated to surfing in the same way which is why I never excelled at it.

Practice, practice, practice. Having just come out of 10 days of Vipassana meditation, I am appreciating practice in a whole new light and still am thankful to my roots as an athlete for instilling this into my DNA. I am observing the places where I want to put on the breaks, take five, or distract myself from being present. What a waste of life…avoiding presence. Honestly, staying present, especially through the difficult moments is perhaps the most rich experience I could have. Not easy, but so deeply gratifying to have endured and embodied presence during challenge. This takes practice and practice rewards 10x.

Third Lesson: Integrate

There is a moment when my body comes into knowing after a dedicated time of practice. I no longer have to think about what I am doing and my mind and body become complete allies. When this happens, I can achieve a new level of mastery if I so choose because the basics are handled and my awareness can go to the next level. Whether this is surfing, while simply meditating or walking through the city, I love this part. There is a glimpse of freedom here, where I am no longer shackled to the tedium and minutia of getting a technique right. Instead, I can slide through like a velvet sunrise and sparkle my way into new sensations and understanding.

Integration is often overlooked and undervalued. Especially in today’s ‘experience addictive’ society. Always wanting more, more, and more of something different, bigger, and more again, etc. I’ve fallen into this trap plenty especially when chasing illusions through the realm of psychedelics. And trust me, I am a friend of psychedelics as a means of healing and growth and I’m also witnessing the tsunami wave of abuses in this area, mainly because of a lack of integration of what has been learned previously before jumping to whatever the next may be. Thus, integration is key. It is the building block of life.

Fourth Lesson: Live

I no longer ride and although I’ve gotten out to surf here and there since that window of time, I truly enjoy just meditating outside of the break and communing with the birds and the dolphins above all. The adrenaline I used to seek by pounding down steeps is no longer a joy that nourishes me in the same way - well, who doesn’t love a powder day though? Now I’d much rather move slower and take in every detail at a different pace and plane. My yoga practice has changed in the same way over the years. When I used to arrange my day for The Eye of the Tiger practice of 3 hours, now I can stretch for 20 minutes and go just as deep. There is something to be said of refinement and the inner alchemy that can occur when presence is accounted for.

Presence is something I have worked for and for me, it is a combination of courage, practice, and integration. Regardless of what vicissitudes arise, I have learned to surf the waves of life from a place of Being. Being, a synonym for presence, is also a state from which I aspire to live always. There is an energy in Being that is unique and only possible to experience from within it. One of the biggest gifts I have received in the past 10 days is that when you show up for the work, the work shows up for you. I could not do this without my Being.

Today, I am feeling so many things, and one of them is thankful. All my best to you and please receive the piece of my heart that lives inside these words.

Listen to The Astrotherapy Podcast here & watch it here

For more musings like this, subscribe here

We cannot change the world until we accept we are the world. This is the new conversation.