Experiencing the ocean through surfing offers many beautiful lessons that can apply to life on land. Practitioners of yoga often say that time spent “on the mat” has measurable benefits off the mat, and it’s no different with surfing. You don’t have to surf or even like the ocean for these ideas to resonate, but this might be more fun to read if you do. Embrace an oceanic mindset and think in terms of metaphors — waves can be a metaphor for challenges and opportunities; conditions, a metaphor for the present moment, just as it is, like it or not. After about a decade surfing, here are some surf school lessons that help me in life “off the board”:
• Unfavorable conditions are temporary; beauty and splendor are permanent
• The universe supplies the conditions. Efforts to control conditions are futile, but preparation of the mind, body, and spirit to use the conditions is challenging, fun, and rewarding…it also sometimes means getting your ass totally and unexpectedly kicked, but it’ll usually be OK and teach you something
• Respect the power of nature and appreciate its beauty. Don’t take it for granted, and remember it is stronger than you are, but you can work with it to create a beautiful moment
• Big scary waves always pass — there is always a lull. It’s counterintuitive at first, but going deeper and paddling towards a scary wave to face it head-on means being able to go over the top before it crashes. This is way better than trying to avoid it by paddling away (every beginner’s instinct) or getting stuck in indecision and freezing. Trying to avoid what’s happening, freezing, and running away usually means that the wave will pound you hard on the back. Also, panicking never helps any situation and can lead to more danger. Do everything in your power to manage the urge to panic and handle the moment directly in front of you
• Boring, flat, and dull periods also always pass. Be grateful for the calm and enjoy the scenery
• Learn to ride the waves as they present themselves. Practice leads to using less effort for more effect
• Cultivate patience. Just wait. Impatience with myself or the conditions doesn’t change a damn thing and leads to grumpiness. That said, nobody’s perfect and we all have grumpy days, so be kind to yourself
• See beauty and potential fun in all conditions: rainy, sunny, foggy, bumpy, rainbows and dolphins, or smooth
• Nothing’s ever exactly the way we want it — someone else is often in the way, the conditions are not awesome, we fall just when we think we’ve got the hang of things…have fun anyway. And on that one magical day when things line up just right, enjoy it fully, but don’t expect it to stay that way, because then every other day will be a disappointment
• Many sharks are beautiful and docile. Most want nothing to do with you. Some are not, however, so don’t be ignorant either
• When the waves are just too big and too scary, it’s OK to stay home, curl up, tend to the body, tend to the spirit, and tend to other things entirely
