Jumping back into it...

The most beautiful way I have ever heard someone describe surfing is Andy Irons. "It's the closest thing you can feel to being kissed by God,"

For real. I cannot imagine a moment in time you could be closer to heaven than that. The culminating moment in time when all manner of opposing forces, physical, spatial and spiritual come together and just work. Actually, you cannot take the spirit out of surfing. You can take it out of the surfer, but not out of surfing.

I guess surfing for me is a spiritual haven, a reconnection to the true life force. I have subtle felt this void in my life, especially the last few weeks. Just stepping out and seeing the waves crash, imagining the endless opportunities of just jumping on that board, and paddling out, has spurred something new in me. Definitely new. Kind of a new flame in me, that once I hit the swells, will turn into a fire. A fire burning and propelling me forward. I have been on hiatus long enough, used every common excuse to avoid putting on the wetsuit and paddling out.

Life can get stagnant when you stop doing the things you love. You have nothing to differentiate you, to propel you forward where others will give up. It’s all about lighting that fire from within, having that constant relay between physical and spiritual. In fact, it’s that connection which is the pulse of life. You need to keep the energy, enthusiasm, drive and love pumping, from mind to body, body to mind. Once you stop the heartbeat of your life, all else starts to fail.


Surfing has been something that plugs me in, that connects me to my life. Like the moment you plunge into a body of cool water on a hot summer’s day, feeling that initial tingling, excitement, refreshment and cleansing; instantly your senses become heightened to new, extraordinary levels, and the experience renews you. That is surfing for me every time. Your life can kind of take you beyond its expectations if you go with the flow. If you let go, release, and allow yourself to connect with the divine energy.

This has kind of been the prominent theme of my life these past few weeks. And I cannot wait to embody this experience, and dive into the surf once again…

Copyright © SoulSurfer 23 July 2012 at 12.22pm

Be (with) someone who makes you happy.

I read this quote this morning, and it has really stuck with me for the last few hours. I guess an explosion of creative and positive energy originated from this quote, and I am happy to write the following…

I have noticed recently the depressing ‘reality’ of everyday life. Stay with me here, because I assure you this post is not at all depressing, as well as the ‘reality’ I describe not all that real.

Life confines us and boxes us in to certain rules, regulations, conventions, ways of being. We follow these and hope they will lead us to a happy, stable, and foreseeable future. And for the most part this works. But to be honest, we get so lost in the routine of our lives, that we lose touch with our souls and our heart’s desires. Maybe this comes with age, but just one look at the state of our world, and especially the level of enthusiasm and positivity of our young generations, and we can see that their view of their own lives is not emanating from a place of hope and happiness.

At this time, countless “how to be happy and rich and successful” books spring to mind, all with apparently tried and tested formulas on how to live life to the dot to ensure happiness. But as my partner accurately pointed out, happiness does not come from things, people or places, it comes from within ourselves. Only we can choose to connect to our souls, listen to our hearts and really follow in that direction.

And so we are not living in a reality.

Paulo Coelho accurately described the process of killing our dreams:

“When we renounce our dreams and find peace, we go through a short period of tranquility. But the dead dreams begin to rot within us and to infect our entire being.
We become cruel to those around us, and then we begin to direct this cruelty against ourselves. That’s when illnesses and psychoses arise. What we sought to avoid in combat – disappointment and defeat – come upon us because of our cowardice.”

I think this accurately describes the state of most people’s lives. They put off following their dreams, as if following them would be a source of shame or futility. It’s not. Life is living your dream. Just as no two fingerprints are alike, no two people’s lives are the same. Everyone has a purpose, a goal, something to fulfil and contribute with open heart in this lifetime. Of course, we have the choice not to follow our paths, but the only person we hurt is ourselves.

Really connecting with ourselves and following our dreams is our privilege and right, and in turn it makes us truly happy. True happiness cannot exist if it has not originated firstly from within. And we cannot give happiness to others, if we are not happy ourselves first.

And so, be someone who makes you happy, so you can be with someone who makes you happy.

Written by Copyright © SoulSurfer 18th July 2012 at 11.10am