So dude, I've decided to go ahead skip all the useless crap so that I can share the ways of the wise surfer right up front. (in case you stop reading this "book" because the surf is up for a while)
Check this simply analogy: Life = The Wave
Steps to catching a wave(and how surfing can apply to life)
1) paddle out - lay flat on the board with your weight centered, use long, slow, and smooth paddling strokes to get you out into the surf. Don't paddle OVER the big surf...simply push the nose of your board down and paddle under the crest of the wave. Don't fight it man, just torpedo right under it.
- Life application - when preparing for any new curve that life throws at you, keep your eyes on the eventual goal and take small, purposeful, effective steps at getting there. Don't beat yourself against the problem that you're facing, just use your head to help you think your way through it.
2) wait for "the" wave - At most beaches around the world, waves come in sets. Depending on the weather, tide, or lunar phase, these sets can vary. Sometimes the ocean will be completely flat, whereas ,on other days, every wave in a set will be "the" wave. Regardless, at some point, you're going to have to figure out how to sit and wait. Bra, you've seen the surfers at the beach...sitting out there in the waves on their boards...waiting for what seems like forever. You've got to pick the right wave carefully...even artfully. Waiting takes skill too dude...if you TRY and balance on your board while sitting, you'll most likely just tank and get a lungful of water. You've got to completely let go and, in that zen-like fashion, find a calm that will allow you to absorb all pitch and roll from the waves under your board...then you just sit in the flux and wait...there's no stress here, because you're just as calm as a chicken from cheboygan...chillin' out.
- Life application - So if "life = the wave" then you're already in the thick of it by the time that you're waiting for your set. Life is tossing you about as you're trying to stay calm so that you can choose the best path, dude. If I've told one chicken, I've told a thousand, you've got to stay calm when things get a little choppy out there. How else will you maintain your clear head to think through the situation and make the right choice on what to do? It's totally like being calm in the surf when you're sitting your board, bro. You've got to just chill and wait for life to present the right wave to you...then there will be no question of what to do...ride that sucker!
...more to come...
