A Surfer's Guide to Life
Photo by Michael Swamer
By Surfer & Producer Jen Yih
BEFORE SURFING WAS COOL IT WAS JUST DOWNRIGHT FUN. GOOD NEWS IS, IT'S STILL FUN. IF YOU'VE EVER SPENT TIME NEAR THE OCEAN YOU ALREADY KNOW THAT SHE HAS A MAGNITUDE THAT CAN'T BE EXPLAINED, ONLY FELT. HER VASTNESS, MELODY, AND PURITY IS ALMOST SACRED. I SPENT MOST OF MY ADULT LIFE TRYING TO BE CLOSER TO BIG BLUE, NOT JUST WHERE I LIVE BUT IN MY RELATIONSHIP WITH HER. THIS IS WHAT SHE TAUGHT ME.
1. DON'T FORCE IT, EVER.
All of us have big dreams, goals, ambitions with a side-serving of impatience. It's the world we live in where things are on-demand, instant, and we can get a fast-food version of everything. Tinder to take-out, things are just too contrived. In the water, if you force a moment, you're going to over-exert or most likely end up in a crappy situation. Timing is everything. Waiting for the right moment to act and working with the steady, melodic flow is when harmony happens.
2. CONSTANT MOVEMENT
No matter how hard you try to stop and get a grasp on life, things are always in circular movement, going, going, going. We can't escape time, aging, the past, present, or future. It is all happening at once. The ocean never quits and is never destined to be anywhere but right where she is. She moves with the sun and moon just as she was intended to. She doesn't hold onto the past or dwell in the future, she's completely present breaking, forming, storming, re-forming, evolving, devolving, crashing, thrashing, nourishing all in a single moment...
3. EQUALIZE
The ocean doesn't care who you are. When you interact with her - she doesn't care how much money you make, what kind of board or Instagram followers you have, or who you are in your on-shore life. She will humble you with big barreling sets that make your heart sink, hold you down to a point where all you crave is a breath of fresh air, and make you co-exist with monstrous sea creatures. She will force you to face your fears, swallow you in her strength only to bring you down to Earth and make you remember that you are... a small part of a much larger whole, simply a visitor, and guest in her presence.
4. TRUST
As wicked and, at times, unpredictable as she can be. The more time, patience, and understanding you devote to her, the more at ease you find yourself. You end up finding an all-consuming dance you could perform over and over again, each one different and more satisfying than the last. She casts a spell on you and you slowly become a better version of yourself addicted to the journey, purity, patience, seeking nothing but those feelings of freedom, harmony, and solitude.
Photo by Kyle Maggy