Yesterday, at Half Moon Bay , California, the worlds most daring surfers rode the winters biggest waves. The Mavericks are what surfers call the waves just north of Half Moon Bay, a small stretch of beach where waves as high as 3 stories build a mile offshore, notorious for it’s danger and excitement, the surfers are known as the “men who ride mountains.
I have one of these waves on my screen saver. It is a monster wave. In college, I would subscribe to surfing magazines, I have always loved the ocean. As a child, our family would go to the beach frequently to camp or just hang for the day . My Dad loved the beach… I miss him.
The beach is still to this day, my most favorite place. Whenever I am home visiting, I do my best to head to Santa Cruz. I just want to smell the air and feel the salt water on my face, the sound of the waves soothes my soul. Watch the otters in the kelp beds, the surfers waiting out the flat water to grab even one ride for the day. I can sit there on the beach burrowing into the sand like it was a nest for my body, feeling the warmth even on the coldest day for hours..
Here I am , land lubbing away in Utah, where the only beaches I know are lake beaches and no- one “swims” here , definitely poor substitutes for the soft sands of my youth so now my memories are fed with CD’s of beach sounds to meditate by, put the head phones on, close your eyes…It’s a journey I look forward to …
The more we are inclined to see life as journey, the more we will actually enjoy life.”
( Brian Tracy)
Even Half Moon Bay’s, Dunes Beach was a favorite winter place in high school. I would spend long Saturdays with my friends, climbing down from the cliff tops to the beach below where we would build bonfires and bundling up because it was always cold and foggy… long winding – car sick road to get there but it was like a secret place that no one really knew about …long before the mavericks discovered the big waves. Hot dogs taste better roasted over a driftwood fire.
I never learned to surf. I was an excellent swimmer and I was not afraid of the ocean , per say.
But I would never venture very far into the water…maybe a little “body surfing” but never where my feet couldn’t touch the bottom.
When I was in the 4th grade I had to get glasses. “4 eyes” ! They were spectacular. White frames with swooping sides that felt like wings with stars in the corner…I wish I still had them! I was pretty much blind as a bat and lost without them, nerdy and goofy looking too.
We went to the beach one time soon after that and I was knocked down by a big wave and my glasses went flying off…I felt like I was being sucked under by a big hand pulling me into the darkness of the underworld – Neptune’s land of mermaids and sharks. It only lasted a few seconds because my Dad was right there to grab me out. I came to learn that was un “undertow”. I was petrified probably more because I couldn’t see, my glasses were gone. My glasses were my magic power – my super strength – like x-ray vision – mine gave me my confidence back and the sea had tried to steal them from me.
After that I would not have dared to learn to surf… I suppose I could have worn big sea goggles but how uncool was that! I had friends who surfed and it was enough to watch them. Gidget was my favorite TV character with her moondoggie all buff and hunkie but – nope surfing was not for me. I would be forever a spectator, oooing and wowing because of the breathtaking beauty and daring of it and the clothes are cool…
Mavericks brings back those memories and fills my senses with awe. Maybe it’s the daring ir- responsibility of it that tickles our hidden “escape desires”. That somehow if we could surf the big wave or ride the Harley across the country, wearing leather halter tops, boots, bandanas and sunglasses, we would indeed be “free”. Even just watching , we feel the power and majesty of the wave and crave that same power for ourselves.
Or perhaps the waves make you feel like you are being overpowered by events in your life you cant control. All the metaphors work… being swept under, wiping out, drowning….or riding the wave out to reach the shore in safety.
How do you ride those waves in your life. I know wipe outs will happen. You may even be dashed against the reef below, being cut and bruised… held under the swirling rip tides and pressure…. but you fight to the surface, craving, living to have a breath of air.
The waves of adversity come in all sizes. Some waves barely ripple the surface and we just get our ankles wet. But others are like the waves at mavericks, 3 stories high, knocking you to the bottom of the sea.
You decide is your lifestyle working for you ? Are you content being miserable ? Are you loving being scared and broke? Does being an alcoholic or addict bringing you happiness and peace with your family and friends? Or are you letting your disease sink you with fear and despair? Those big waves are swamping your life’s ship…and it will soon go under unless you can ride that wave to a better life…a life of personal excellence.
My Friend Elaine said ” Enjoy life now, there is plenty of time to be dead”. She loved surfing too… This wave’s for you my friend…hang TEN.
