The Calm, The Storm, The Woohoo

Momentum is a powerful force. It can make you glide, or it can pummel you.?

One thing I know for certain is that life comes at you in waves and learning how to navigate those moments and better yet, prepare for them, is a supreme skill set.

This was never more evident than when I was trying to learn to surf in Costa Rica.?

There were some moments of pure bliss.? I’d find a small swell with no one else around, avoiding the crowd of beginners or the locals trying to intimidate and find my way into the rhythm of the ocean.? Everything would slow down, and you could see the waves forming in the distance. I was always amazed when you knew a wave was coming and it was meant for you. ?I didn’t have to paddle that hard, or battle someone else, – It was mine, and I’d ride.?

10 seconds would feel like a day, weightless, flying, detached.?? I’d uncontrollably let out a "WooHOO" and head back out to try and catch another.

?Most times the other wouldn’t come because it wasn't meant for me.? One was a good day.

Still, I’d study the waves while sitting on my board, at peace. Usually, the sun would be setting, and the rain would be slight – I should have created more of those moments.

Most of the time I would just get pummeled.? I’d go out with a friend who had been surfing for years, and I’d try to keep up. Pure water logging.

I’d drift into a group of locals at peak swell.? "Go to Hell, Gringo." Sometimes it felt like I got there.

The thing about surfing, is that you have to earn the right to weightlessness, the detachment, the stoke.

You don’t get bliss without countless sessions of being twisted upside down, and insight out – Complete disorientation. The set comes in for those who deserve.

I have struggled with allowing good things to come my way at times in my life.? The fear is that once the good start’s storming in, the bad will inevitable seek to balance you out.? To humble you, make you realize who the boss REALLY is.

Latley, I have been telling that noise to find someone else to push to shore.

?I’ve earned this session.

So what has changed?

I looked in the mirror.

I focused on my mental and physical health. My family.? I’ve pushed away the ego, the distractions.

I am holding myself accountable.

I’ve become laser focused on less.

I am chasing the waves instead of paddling away from them.

I’m learning my balance.

Deserving positivity in life differentiates greatly from feeling entitled to them.

In opposition, shit things happen to people that don’t deserve them all the time.

I think part of my growth is just letting go of that kite string, silencing the inner critique and finding beauty in things that aren’t perfect.

All that I can control is my energy and how I choose to use and give.

Stay in the swell, stay in the moment, and let it flow.

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