Surf’s Up

Surfs up- and I’m down. Nothing turns out the way I think it will be. I had visions of myself killing it- surfing like a pro on the perfect waves of the warm South African ocean in the sun. Well. That was a nice vision, but not quite reality.

Surfing isn’t easy. The water in Muizenberg, South Africa is not warm. It is not always sunny- windy rather, and I can stand up on a surf board for a grand total of 5 seconds. My lovely daydreams don’t always take into account that things will be hard.

Day one of surfing I got pretty beat up in the waves, which are rough. Don’t be mistaken- the beach and ocean are gorgeous here. It’s just not how I thought it would be- not bad- just different. How would I know how South Africa would feel if I hadn’t been here before? The kids that I’m volunteering with from the townships on the other hand are amazing.

Sometimes I think the hardest thing is just to be here, right now, with whatever I feel. Even if it’s great, I tend to get ahead of myself. Maybe I’m too old to be doing this (I’m in a house full of young un’s), maybe I should do something else, I’m not good at surfing, the thoughts go on and on.

The reality is that I’m here. I have the opportunity to walk through the challenge and be present wherever I am. I’m not sure what the lesson is yet, but I know I want to do what’s in front of me and not get stuck ‘in my head’ or thinking about where I will be or what I will do. So, surfs up- I’m probably going to fall down a hundred times, but here’s to the experience!