I found myself thinking a lot today about how to live a passionate life.
Not just how to nurture our passions but how to live a life with passion. A life that is loud and vibrant. One that is filled with our dreams. How to take the ordinary life we’ve been given and make it extraordinary.
It made me think of a woman I wrote about once. A woman I only learned about after her death. A woman who set an example for me on how to live vibrantly, no matter the circumstances or the surroundings. A woman who didn’t let the world around her keep her from her heart’s desire.
I felt a need to revisit a post I wrote more than a year ago. I was on my journey to surf every Wednesday for a year. I was documenting each of my Wednesday experiences and this one always stays with me.
Salty Kisses,
Karen
A Page From A Surfer Girl’s Journal
Wednesday May 8, 2013
Today was one of those days. A day where if it weren’t for my goal to surf every Wednesday for a year, I never would have been in the ocean. The commitment to Wahine Wednesdays was the driving force of today’s surf session..
It had rained significantly the day before. The sky this morning had that post storm look about it. The clouds were beautiful, with a hint of darkness and mystery, as if to tell you something spectacular had just happened there. The ocean had a precarious look as well; swirly, murky, with just the right amount of wind chop to make it extremely uninviting. The waves were small and had no discernible shape. The water quality was highly suspicious.
I usually wait the recommended 72 hours after it rains to surf. I give the ocean a chance to cleanse herself of the debris and bacteria that materialize with rainfall. However, today was Wednesday so all bets were off. I had to go. Every Wednesday I always go.
Despite any crazy bacteria I may have picked up, I am thankful I got in.
It wasn’t about the surf today. Today it was all about the surfers.
My surf sisters and I paddled out at Blackies in Newport. We figured we would hop in, log our water time, and be out lickity split. The tide was on the low side and the waves were not the greatest, but we made the most of it. I caught some little rides on the inside and had a good time. In fact, I always have a good time. Even on the worst of days, I never get out of the water and say, “Damn, I am so disappointed I did that.” Never!
When we paddled out, the only other person to be seen for miles was a woman we didn’t know. She was on a huge, colorful longboard. I could quickly tell she was a seasoned surfer. I watched her catch a few waves. She had a smooth style and an easy pop up. She also had no leash. (One of my pet peeves but, that is for a different time). Honestly, I couldn’t figure out why she was coming out in these conditions. I thought my Wednesday wahines and I were the only ones crazy enough to try to make something out of nothing today. The only ones with a purpose. I was wrong.
After catching a few waves I ended up drifting away from my surf sisters and closer to the pier. I drifted in the direction of the woman on the colorful board. This actually worked out well because as time went on the wave shape seemed to get better over there.
I took off on a fun little right, made about as much of it as I could and then kicked out to turn and paddle back to the line up. As I was paddling back, the woman on the colorful board, was up on a wave coming in my direction. I wasn’t worried because I had watched her surf. I felt comfortable that she knew what she was doing; that she would be able to avoid me. But then, all of a sudden, the lip of the wave caught her board and she wiped out. The huge, bright board she was riding came barreling toward me with no leash to tether it to her. Thankfully, there was not much wave energy to propel the board so as it reached me I was able to put my arm in front of me, grab the nose, and push it backward.
The seasoned surfer was quite apologetic for almost decapitating me. She apologized profusely. And then she apologized some more.
She went on to explain that she had lost control because the board she was riding wasn’t hers. She explained that it was a difficult board for her to ride because it was bigger than she was used to. It was a 9’6″ board with no rocker. She said it was very squirrely and hard for her maneuver. I told her I understood and not to worry.
She, this seasoned surfer, was a lovely woman. Very friendly, easy to talk to and I could tell in those short moments, she had a heart of gold. It made me wish I had learned her name.
Without hesitation, she went on to tell me that it was her friend’s board she had taken out. A friend that had just passed away. Her friend was 47. She was riding that board to honor her friend today.
Her friend, she said, weighed 400 lbs. She had also been a smoker. Her friend didn’t really know how to surf but bought that big colorful board and took it out every day to learn. She was determined to surf…to be a surfer.
As we shared these precious moments in the water together, celebrating her friend, the woman continued talking, and I let her. I could tell she was missing her friend and needed to talk. She needed me to know who her friend was. Who she really was.
The woman told me her friend just adored that board. She was in love with all the colors. She thought it was the perfect surfboard; the best and the most beautiful even though mechanically it was all wrong for her. Her friend tried repeatedly to get up on that beautiful board. Every day she would take it out and try.
Sadness came across her face as she told me that her friend was never able to stand up on it. As much as she tried, and as much as she desired to stand on that board, it was never to be. Her weight and poor health didn’t allow it.
I pictured her in my mind, this friend, this woman who loved bright colors and so badly wanted to surf. This incredibly over weight woman on the huge colorful board determined to be a surfer. Paddling around in the white water, probably in just a bathing suit. I imagined her with a huge smile on her face and laughing the whole time. That’s how we all look when we first start surfing. Like we are the only ones in on this really amazing secret. We hold a permanent grin because we are so stoked. We are so excited to be a part of this incredible ocean adventure. And she was no different.
[Tweet “That’s how we all look when we first start surfing. Like we are the only ones in on this really amazing secret.”]
That is how I picture her. A woman with an amazing spirit. A woman with a huge frame only equaled by her huge smile and her love for life. A woman just going for it! Not letting her physical limitations or poor health keep her down. Or keep her from living with passion. Not letting potential ridicule keep her away. After all, if you believe what some of the surf companies are trying to sell women, surfing is only for the young, thin, and beautiful. She did not let the stereotype of what a surfer is supposed to look like stand in her way.
[Tweet “She did not let the stereotype of what a surfer is supposed to look like stand in her way.”]
She and her board were beautiful. Loud and vibrant. Alive with color.
She paddled into the ocean with pride. She went out with her huge multi-colored board, her 400 pounds, and her stoke. She knew the power of surfing. It had touched her soul, even though she had yet to stand up.
Once you feel the power of surfing inside you, it becomes a part of you. Surfing is no longer merely something you do, it becomes part of who you are. The woman I met today knew that. Her friend had become passionate about surfing. It became a part of her. She wasn’t a typical surfer. From her outward appearance you would not guess that she surfed at all. But she did. She was a surfer in her heart. She just didn’t live long enough to become a surfer with her body.
[Tweet “Surfing is not merely something you do, it becomes part of who you are.”]
That’s why this seasoned surfer was surfing today in these less than perfect conditions on this less than perfect board.
She honored her friend in the best way, maybe the only way, she knew how. She caught waves on that big rainbow-colored board. She caught the waves her friend never could.
With each wave she caught she felt the warmth of her friend looking down upon her.
And she smiled every time!
Salty Kisses,
K
For more posts on living a passionate life…