“Remember, don’t take it too seriously; we’re making pool toys.”
That was the last part of the sanding lesson my boss gave me yesterday, after I sanded through yet another board. It’s a long process – learning how to build boards, and it’s not easy.
But neither is surfing. It was a long process to get to my ability today, and I still suck. Such is life. The key to it is to not take it so seriously.
So why have I taken this blog so seriously? Why do I put in so much effort, for absolutely nothing in return? I blame surfing.
Think about the risk/reward of surfing:
Risk – time, comfort, safety, ego, relationships, jobs, etc.
Reward – personal satisfaction (ego)
What has surfing ever provided for you? Aside from a couple of prize bags I won from contests, the only thing surfing has ever given me is a stroke of my ego.
“When I surf, I am a better person. I am much more happy, relaxed, and at ease. When I start my day with a surf, I am much more productive and successful.”
What a crock of shit. Because you got completely washed in the ocean this morning, on your $900 Thai-made epoxy board that you can’t ride, you think you are “more of a joy to be around”? Fuck you.
If you told me you were happier when you start your day with a run, meditating, yoga – something normal, I might believe you. There is no chance that you get out of the water everyday smiling ear-to-ear in a wet, sandy, salty, cold wetsuit, after going over the falls 10 times at your local crowded, shitty beachbreak. You’re insane.
But something about it keeps drawing you back. It’s the one time that you did get it right – when you were sitting in the perfect spot for that set wave, when you actually did stand up without putting your knee on the deck of your board first, where you actually made it around the first section and got some open face to work with; when you actually surfed. Those 10, maybe 12 seconds that you claimed victory over nature, those are the fleeting moments we surf for. You won. You, in tandem with Mother Nature, won. You successfully surfed a wave. A stroke of the ego. What did that get done for you again?
Is that what I am writing for? A stroke of the ego? I could conform to that, albeit there is not much stroking – nobody reads this. That’s why I’ve called it what it is – hvoide. I’m just shouting into the h(void)e.
So again, what has surfing done for me? What have I done for surfing? If you ever wonder what I am doing writing this blog (read: wasting my time), think back to this post. I will do the same.
Cheers,
Hwilsin
Drew Stanfield