Waves

I believe in magic. I believe in the moment and the magic of the moment. Sometimes I believe I can fly. This morning when I was surfing, three nene geese honked as they cruised by me and continued on down the coastline. I was reminded of a dream that I had when I first started surfing. I would float in the water and somehow project myself into the air and fly above the ocean, gliding along the water's edge. I could see clearly into the rocky coves and pools below, fish darting from my shadow and turtles surfacing to look at me inquiringly. I was part it all, flying! But when I started thinking about what I was actually doing, FLYING! everything fell apart and I would fall into the ocean, unable to get myself out of the water again. The perfect example of what being in the moment is all about. Surfing is just like that. Once you become too worried about anything other than the waves and the conditions, the whole thing falls apart.

Ultimately, surfing has become the study of waves. After 30 years of surfing in Hawai`i, I'm beginning to understand the variables that make up perfect waves: swell, coming from a storm in the Aleution Islands; wind direction, generally offshore or calm; not too extreme of a tide and some sort of magic that makes it all come together. That is why I always believe in magic and that anything is possible.