Letting Go – Day 7
Letting Go – Day 7
By Jenny Griffin
Systems of Nature – Surfing Life’s Waves
‘You cannot stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.’ – Jon Kabat-Zinn (professor, writer)
‘There are no more committed people on the planet than surfers. We fall down a lot. We turn around, paddle back out, and do it over and over again. Unlike anything else in life, the stoke of surfing is so high that the failures quickly fade from memory.’ – Gary Sirota (surfer)
Surfing is quite a joy to watch. It’s different from other sports in that the ‘competition’ is as much the delirious power of Mother Nature as it is the other surfers. The two quotes above were chosen to demonstrate where the metaphorical idea of surfing as a concept (surfing emotional waves) meets surfing as a physical act.
If you’ve ever sat beside a storm-tossed ocean you can attest to the awesome power of the waves. The thundering sound you can both hear and somehow feel through your feet, the smell of the angry ocean, and the feel of the salt-spray on your face are tangible reminders of one’s vulnerability as a human. To face the majesty of those waves head on, and do it repeatedly, says something of the human need to taste a small part of that power. It’s not about taming the power, but about finding a way to work with it, to propel you to heights you’ve never before reached, to places you never imagined.
