Simplicity of Surfing

Surfing is the art of briefly harnessing the immense power the ocean holds and using it for our own pleasure and delight.

To slide across the surface of the ocean under power of its waves is to capture something untamable, if only for a few fleeting moments.

Any time you enter the ocean, you sacrifice control. As tame as we like to think our world is, the ocean can't and won't be tamed. The ocean is a powerful force that has stirred inspiration—and fear—since the beginning of time. 

The reason instagram accounts like @kookslams will never run out of content, is because we will never run short of people who underestimate the sea.

Harnessing the ocean's waves and sliding across its surface is a feat to be celebrated.  We make surfing more complicated when we try to make it more than it is.  We worry about trying to look good while doing it, performing various tricks, or holding our arms in just the right way, but simply riding down the beach is nine-tenths of the battle.

In an effort to recapture the simple joy of sliding down the beach, I have taken to frequently removing the fins on my boards and literally sliding my way around as I attempt to navigate toward the sand.  Staying low in the pocket and riding the wave to the beach become the core objective—stripping the activity down to an act of pure, personal enjoyment by removing any expectations of maintaining a particular level of performance.

This also helps my mental approach when I paddle back out on more functional equipment, keeping the whole experience in perspective.

For you, recapturing the pure joy of why you started surfing may not involve removing fins from fin boxes, but perhaps a slightly different approach or a less conventional surf spot.  Anything to refresh the context of what is happening in the water while you surf.

As we embark on 2021, find ways of appreciating how simple the act of surfing ocean waves really is.  The beauty is in the simplicity.