Lessons from the Surfer

Posted by admin in Blog (Weekly), Blogs

Mar
15

I never know what I am going to witness when I pray and mediate each morning. I may see a whale waving to me as it jumps right out of the water. A few days ago, I saw a huge sea lion that weighed over 1000 pounds playing with a turtle! Today, I watched 15-20 surfers ride the waves and I learned something about surfing and life. The surfers sit and wait for the perfect wave that they can ride. They have faith and know that the wave will come. I am sure it is exhilarating and exciting to catch the wave that will carry them for long distances. I asked myself, “How do they know which wave will give them the best ride and when to wait for the next one?” I observed how patient they were and how they trusted their instincts. They intuitively seemed to know when to turn the board, when to go into the wave or when to jump off and dive into the ocean.

I am sure they have practiced for years to be that good because there were some huge waves crashing over them and it was breathtaking to watch. I thought to myself, “ I am sure they learned to surf on small waves before graduating to the giant waves.” What I noticed is that when a wave crashed over them and they tumbled into the ocean (which had to be scary), they got up immediately and headed back for the next wave to come. They didn’t give in to fear.

Just like the surfers wait patiently for the perfect wave, we need to practice patience and trust in the manifestation of our dreams – “knowing” deep within us that our dreams will manifest at the perfect and right time. We need to stay in the water of life if we are going to catch the wave – the next opportunity or miracle. How tempting it is to give up and forget our dreams because it is not happening fast enough. We may give up right before the miracle. We must practice by showing up daily for our lives and trusting in a Higher Power.

This is what I learned from watching the surfers that I can apply to my life. I must be patient and wait, trusting that I am right where I need to be and I must believe the right and perfect answer will show up at the right time. I must go within and trust myself that I will know what to do when I need to do it. It may be to stay in a relationship, or a job, or it may be to let go and leave. I have learned over the years that when problems crash over me like the waves in the ocean, I need to get right back up, face my fears and not give up. I know that I can trust in a Power greater than myself to sustain me and support me, no matter how it looks on the outside.

As I look back over my life and the many situations I have encountered, I realized I was more like the surfer than I thought. I know what it is like to face my fear and dive in. I could feel deep within myself when it was time to leave a 30 year marriage, and I needed to come out of denial, face my fear and take those steps towards change, in order to live my dream. Was it scary? Of course it was. I also know that I couldn’t have left one minute earlier than I did. I had to be prepared and ready. I don’t regret my marriage, but I knew it was no longer bringing me joy and I wasn’t living my life to the fullest. Today I am living my dream and riding some amazing powerful waves.

Are you waiting for the perfect wave in your life like a new job, home, relationship, health, abundance? I am waiting patiently for the perfect wave in my life – and that is for Perfect Love. I thank you God for the Perfect Love that will come to me in peace, ease and grace. I am not willing to settle for a small wave and I am not willing to give up. Like the surfers, I know and believe the wave will come. Do you believe your wave will come?

Right after I finished writing this, my friend Pat and I went into town to the used book store. She was looking for a book for her husband. As we were leaving, I spotted this small book “Surfing” Hawaiian provers and inspirational quotes. This is what I opened to:

“Surfing big waves is all about overcoming fear. Fear paralyzes and fear causes hesitation, and fear is something that we all have…. So every year, if you’re going to surf big waves, you have to go through a process of mentally and physically preparing yourself. The physical part is relatively simple – you have to be fit, you swim, you run. But the mental part is a lot more challenging because you have to revisit old fears and you have to overcome them again.” Jim Howe

“The surfer acquired the patience to wait for things to happen rather than try to make them happen. With each successful ride, he experienced a feeling of spiritual achievement, he came into harmony with nature; and nature, for all practical purposes is God.” Tom Blake