I thought that was pretty awesome. Anyway, what was more interesting to me was that Jesse Ventura has pretty much dropped out of society and devoted himself to a single pursuit, surfing. He's moved down to Baha, Mexico and just surfs.
If you don't surf you've probably heard someone waxing poetic about the power of the waves. What is it about standing up on a styrofoam board that makes people go gaga?
I think surfing brings together a few things that, once you've experienced them, are pretty irresistible. I'll try to break it down for you.
1. The thrill of being small. This is the same feeling you get at the foot of a mountain range, or looking at the stars. All the cares and worries of the mundane world are exposed as the trivialities they really are. From the shore waves don't look so big, but when you're on the board even a three foot wave will put you in its shadow. Once you get into overheads the wave might as well be a mountain. Albeit a living, churning mountain barrelling down on you. This is incredibly fun and tends to put things in perspective. I've never met someone coming off the waves with the slightest trace of stress in their body.
2. Getting a taste of the world's elemental power. The first time you successfully catch a wave and your board starts moving with the water's energy is something you'll never forget. Your meager paddling is laughable by perspective, as in a matter of seconds you lift and accelerate with unreal speed. I've tried to describe it to people, it's nothing like when a rollercoaster gets to the top of its first curve, or when you floor a car, or when a your airplane takes off. It's a meaty, organic acceleration. It always feels just right. When tapping into .001 percent of a wave's energy gives you such a rush, you come away with a whole new perspective on how feeble you really are. And in feebleness is freedom. Like number 1, being aware of how small you are is a gift of humility and gratefullness to be alive at all.
3. No winning or losing. I could never get into competitve games. I think I was always just too empathetic. Even when I wrestled, my whole heart wasn't in it, I had trouble finding that killer instinct. In the last second I'd feel kind of bad for the guy I was pinning and let up just that slightest bit that meant the difference between winning and losing. And win or lose, I never felt too attached to either outcome. What difference did it make? This is probably why surfing instantly appealed to me. There's no fooling yourself in surfing. You're participating in a meaningless activity. You paddle out, you surf in, you paddle out, you surf in. You might as well be moving piles of stones from one spot to another. For me this puts surfing squarely in the meditation column of activities. Life other forms of meditation, the more ego you bring into it the less you will excel.
4. Enforced down-time. Any surf video will obviously focus on those 5-10 seconds of catching and riding the wave. But behind those few precious seconds are hours and hours of down time. You can't force the ocean to your schedule. For most beaches you'll get the best waves at high or low tide, meaning that even if you're surfing as much as humanly possible you've got 6 -8 hour stretches where there's nothing to do. So you sit around, sleep, talk to friends, and just slow down. Life takes on a more natural rythm when you start to work your schedule around the tides and winds rather than punch-clocks and train schedules. I've witnessed strong type-A personalities totally chill out and find their groove while waiting for the next set of waves to roll in.
So I hope this gives you some insight into why people get so hooked on surfing. It would be even better if it inspires you to pick up a board and get out there. You don't have to be an amazing surfer to get the feelings listed above. You just have to show up.
2. Getting a taste of the world's elemental power. The first time you successfully catch a wave and your board starts moving with the water's energy is something you'll never forget. Your meager paddling is laughable by perspective, as in a matter of seconds you lift and accelerate with unreal speed. I've tried to describe it to people, it's nothing like when a rollercoaster gets to the top of its first curve, or when you floor a car, or when a your airplane takes off. It's a meaty, organic acceleration. It always feels just right. When tapping into .001 percent of a wave's energy gives you such a rush, you come away with a whole new perspective on how feeble you really are. And in feebleness is freedom. Like number 1, being aware of how small you are is a gift of humility and gratefullness to be alive at all.
4. Enforced down-time. Any surf video will obviously focus on those 5-10 seconds of catching and riding the wave. But behind those few precious seconds are hours and hours of down time. You can't force the ocean to your schedule. For most beaches you'll get the best waves at high or low tide, meaning that even if you're surfing as much as humanly possible you've got 6 -8 hour stretches where there's nothing to do. So you sit around, sleep, talk to friends, and just slow down. Life takes on a more natural rythm when you start to work your schedule around the tides and winds rather than punch-clocks and train schedules. I've witnessed strong type-A personalities totally chill out and find their groove while waiting for the next set of waves to roll in.
So I hope this gives you some insight into why people get so hooked on surfing. It would be even better if it inspires you to pick up a board and get out there. You don't have to be an amazing surfer to get the feelings listed above. You just have to show up.
2 comments:
Great post Patrick - it is exactly how I feel about rock climbing and bouldering. The quieter you are the better the experience, although, there is value and gain from the experience regardless. The sense of oneness I find on the rock sounds the same as melding with the board and the water
patrique
i like your blog.
but im tired and going to sleep now zzzzzz
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