So.. you want to Surf?

I could spend infinite hours reminiscing on the countless moments spent in the liquid of our mother Earth, paddling through the thick salt of a blue sea that brilliantly catches the rays of the sun above to then throw them deep inside the pores of my eastward facing skin, decorated with the shine of salt that sticks happily to the unshaven hairs on my cheeks.

Or of course those stormy days that the sky churns above, rumbling vibrations across the fetch of open space into the bones of those willing to sit in the wild churn of the ocean, bobbing up and down with the steady ebb and flow of white capped waves until, alas, one lines up perfect enough to allow the open face to be rode with timeless style.

And that's just it.

I have so many memories that together combine into the person that I am, the existence that I have so chosen to ensue on my path throughout this intricately insane life, a discovery of my own purpose that has single handily dictated the fate of which I have, since the first time stepping foot on the bumpy wax of a hand-me-down board, followed with open arms and ogle eyes.

And so if you too have decided that the lure of the sea has called your name just enough times to also follow the path of, not a seafarer, but a sea follower, and that surfing is going to be the way in which you listen to this faint sound until it crashes loud within your ears, then you will instantaneously discover secrets within yourself that are otherwise absolutely impossible to attain. You will learn things about this natural world and the ways in which us, as human beings, can not only be a part of it, but can walk (or rather ride) hand in hand with it so that the best of everything that we are capable of can be derived direct from our souls.

Should you choose to surf, to tango with a force so tangibly intangible, like an unsolvable mystery that is unfolding in the strands of times right in front of your face, then you will be kissed with a gentle wind that within its soft touch will reveal an eye witnesses account of what it actually means to be alive. These are three things that I myself have been fortunate enough discover, and thus share with you, and hope that you too will succumb to the brilliant trials and tribulations that it takes to deem yourself what the world would call a "Surfer".

1. You will fight, with all available desire held within your soul, for but a moment that comes and goes as fleetingly as the waves themself.

The truth, and let me be as blunt as possible regarding this, is that surfing is incredibly difficult. It is not, at least most of the time, the simple and carefree dance that it has often made out to be. And you really will never know what I mean, until you just know what I mean.

You are at the mercy of the ocean, and with that you will have to experience her in all of her changing moods. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of days that come along where the waves peel perfect along the shore, the wind blowing offshore and the sun shining bright in a big blue sky. And when those 'easy' days do decide to unravel themselves, you will soak them up like a sea sponge below the very reef in which you ride. But most of the time, she is moody. Most of the time she is wild, she is mean, and she will do everything she can to push you back onto the sand on the land in which you belong.

And that is when you will fight.

Your arms will burn with lactic acid as they paddle directly towards the very thing that is so relentlessly yanking you back. You will push your board hard below the surface as the whitewater crumbles train like towards you, taking the breath right out of your lungs with merciless passion, the very air that you breathe a delicacy you will thus wish to have and endless supply of. And you will do this all for just one wave, just one moment. One ten, or if you are lucky, twenty second ride that leaves you right back in the position that you were before…

And for some inhuman reason, you will want to do it again. You will want it even more. Because in the end, you were victorious, and you realize that to fight for something you desire so deeply is worth all the pain that comes along with it, and that the moments that come and go as quickly as a few simple blinks of an eye are the ones that will instill themselves forever into the bank of your mind that contains the most valuable treasures of all.

And this will change you forever. It will teach you that this is true for all things in this life that are worth, well, anything. And you will be more of a warrior than you ever have been before, fighting only for the things that you love the most so that you can hold in your hourglass just one more pice of sand that will etch itself into one of these 'oh so special' moments.

2. You will ALWAYS choose adventure over material.

Saving for that new car or that fancy suit and tie to look stunningly instagram worthy?

Yeah, not me…

Material things mean nothing. They actually and literally contain no face value at all to the life in which I live. There is one truth to this world that, with surfing, you will surely uncover.

And that truth is that all the best things in life are completely free of charge.

No government dictated bill can value the lust for a wave that breaks on the sand of an empty beach. No time spent working and saving for something that exist only as matter will be anymore wasted. And if you do find yourself with a lovely little savings account, it will not burn a hole in your pocket, but will instead burn a hole within your heart until you click "Buy" on that plane ticket to the next surf spot in which you so wish to discover.

Trust me, the value of this lesson itself will mean more to you than a dollar bill when you come to know it as an actual, unchangeable truth. And you will thank surfing for the rest of your days for giving you the peace of mind that comes with shrugging off your shoulder the fact that the overrated realities that matter so much to most people mean absolutely nothing to you.

3. Good things take time, and time is all we have, so spend it searching for this good. And the process may even mean more than the result.

It took me two years before I could even get close to saying that I had a pretty good idea of how to surf. Two years of water in my nose and sand in my board shorts. The occasional bump and bruise from my board smacking my skin, the racing of my heart from the run-ins with a shark that swims idly by. And good lord I would have spent two… or ten… or twenty years more doing exactly this.

Why?

Ehh, who really cares why anyways.

I guess it was because I loved the process. I loved the feeling of becoming something better and greater than I was before. Because when I reflected on my past, those reflections mimicked that of the shine of the sea, for a second spent by the ocean is a second well spent, and my seconds had accumulated into countless hours that I would wholeheartedly cherish forever. And to learn that the best things in life never come easy created in me the realization that good things take time. Dedication does not come without effort, as it is so much easier to ride the simple route through anything we do, but man oh man will it ever be worth it if you never stop doing what you intrinsically and genuinely want to do with the time in which you are allotted.

We can count our lives with the breaths in which we take, so do the things that take your breath away.

And happiness will follow right on by.