09 Aug What can the best surf camps teach you: philosophy of surfing.
It’s a great talent not to spend your lifetime just existing, but live your life properly, feeling and appreciating every day and every second. That’s what you will learn if you stay at the best surf camps. You will discover philosophy of surfing the way it is – feelings, emotions, patience and plenty of others good things we should know about. During the first lessons it’s hard to realize it, because you trying to concentrate on techniques of surfing, and then, lesson after lesson, standing up is not a mission anymore, you can make turns easily. Your brain starts slowing down, leaving a space for sensations. So what the philosophy of surfing can teach us?
Be patient
Surfers spend a lot of time just sitting in the water and waiting for a wave. Sometimes it takes so long that you started getting annoyed and want to paddle back, even it was hard to paddle out or took you a long drive to get to a surf spot. But true surfer knows how to be patient, because true surfer knows, what made him (or her) to come there and wait. So is the life. We all have our goals, but when it takes longer than it was planned in our minds, we start thinking that maybe everything was just a waste of time and time to give up. Never ever allow yourself to think this way. Lesson #1. Good things come to those who wait.
Believe in yourself
Most of the people, who had the first line-up, were scared of upcoming wave, doubting their strength and skills. Sometimes the fear can be so strong, that all time in line-up was about “how to avoid the waves”. And after catching zero waves everything ends up with disappointment. Have you ever had same experience in your life? When you go to a job interview, for example, but think that you’re not good enough for it? Or you would like to go travelling or to do something, but your self-estimate says “it’s too much for you”? All the fears and doubts you have are the main reason why people fail. The philosophy of surfing is to trust and to believe into yourself.
Focus on your goals
On the way to success there always be some obstacles, because nothing worth having comes easy. If you want to pump your surfing skills up, get ready to wake up before dawn, paddle out hard in cold water, get over little fails, mistakes, bruises etc. It’s like to be a schooler again: early wakes up and bad marks from time to time. And this is it – never stop learning despite all of above, keep on going. Because you know, it’s the only one way to reach the stars. Lesson #3: when obstacles arise, remember why you’ve started and always move in the direction of your goal.
Leave your comfort zone
In this case, use of philosophy of surfing is priceless! Surfers are fearless: we are not scared to surf even if we know that there can be sharks around, and more than it, even after seeing one we won’t stop surfing. We are keen to go to a surf trip to a semi-inhabited island, we are curious what’s like to surf in Alaska or Antarctica (and as soon as we’re skilled enough, we would go). And even heavy rain, thunder, lightning or snow don’t really bother us. And do you know why? Because we all looking for a perfect wave and surfing, that will become a legend. Lesson #4: life begins in the end of your comfort zone.
Closer to nature
As soon as we start learning how to talk and getting along with this world, we always connect all the things to certain time: time to wake up, time to eat, time to go somewhere, time to do something. All our life is constantly looking at the time, that tells us what to do. Just think about it: how often do you check what time is it? Of course, if you have that kind of “big city life”, the time becomes all that matters. But surfers live in a different way. We have our own clocks, that depend on moon phases and swell chart. Only after figuring out perfect time for surfing, we start waiting for it and look at the time. This is philosophy of surfing and lesson #5: be closer to nature and listen to its biological rhythms.
Seize the moment
As we mentioned above, one caught wave is worth of a lot of effort sometimes. And surfers know, how to wait for 5, 10, 20 and even more minutes just to get few seconds pleasure of riding the wave. Why do we do that? Because these few seconds can become a timeless memory. Even being in the water for a couple of hours the total time you actually were on a wave can be less than 10 minutes, but even these 10 minutes can be a reason of the happiest smile and endless stories. Lesson #6: seize the moment. Learn from the past, live in the present, hope for the future.
Philosophy of surfing is the art of being happy
“A bad day of surfing is better than a good day at work” ©. Most of those, who tried surfing, will be agree with this statement. When you’re waiting for a wave you have time to yourself to think about something, to dream or simply to enjoy conversations with your friends. And all of that comes with splendid ocean view. If you paddle back all tired after getting all of above plus some waves on top – you are the happiest person in the world. That’s why surfing becomes more than just a hobby in no time. Lesson #7: do what you love and love what you do – this is the simple key for happiness.
That’s why surfing is a lifestyle, because ocean is a great teacher, and philosophy of surfing is pretty much philosophy of life.