Tag: Costa Rica

RIDING WAVES

I wrapped up 2013 on vacation with great friends in Costa Rica.  As some of you know, Costa Rica has become a popular surfing destination and there are opportunities for riding waves all over.

If you have followed me at all, you also know that I am an avid snowboarder and one of my happiest places is strapped to my snowboard in Colorado.

While in Costa Rica, my Colorado friends and I took quite a few opportunities to surf.  The ocean is really warm in that area so it is simple to throw a rash guard on, grab a board and paddle out.

I have done quite a bit of surfing over the years in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Belize, California and New Jersey.  One of my greatest challenges of surfing is getting the board and myself safely out past the break.  It is a game of finesse, timing and strength.  When one is a little on the tall and lanky side and riding a 9 foot board, it can be quite challenging as sets roll in.  photo-11

The particular beach that we surf at in this spot in Costa Rica, the water is soft, the waves are gentle and there is a beautiful rhythm to the ebb and flow.  It also makes getting out past the break just a little bit easier.

While I am out waiting for the next wave, I am thinking about all the snow that is piling up at home.  Though I am grateful beyond what words can describe to be sitting on that board in that moment, I also have a moment I am considering how much I am excited about getting on my snowboard when I get home.

The two sports are similar in some ways.  They way you stand on the board is the same, though snowboarding you are strapped in.  There is a meditative sense to both sports…in other words, you need to be present and in the moment or you can quickly find yourself in trouble.  There is a sense of working with nature, snowboarding-snow conditions, surfing-the powerful ocean.

My dearest love for snowboarding stems from many reasons that I will not go into due to the length of the list.  One of the key reasons I love it is because I get a chance to explore a mountain.   There is a chance to check out this run over here, that run over there, this restaurant for breakfast, that one for lunch, this group of Aspen trees, that group of pine trees, this trail, that chairlift.  You get the idea.

Surfing is different.  It is paddle out, catch a wave, come back to where you started, paddle out, catch a wave, end up back where you started, paddle out, catch a wave…and it goes on.  There isn’t necessarily an area of water you are covering and not one area of that water is ever the same.

…but for me I realize how much it is about internal exploration.  It looks a little like this…This water is so beautiful.  The view from my board is amazing.  Its really awesome I have some good friends joining me.  I see a set in the distance.  I wonder if I am in the right spot. I can see that wave building.  Is it going to be big enough to ride?  Will it break right or left?  it it going to be too big for me?  Oh $#1t, here it comes!  I am in the right spot? I need to turn around and paddle. Where is all that anxiety coming from?  Will I catch this one?  Will I get rocked by it?…and honestly, none of this internal dialogue and analysis is helpful.

The only thing that is helpful is learning which wave to catch and then letting go. photo-12

When mental resistance and fear come up and the mind shifts to and through all of that diologue, it is very difficult to go with the flow of the wave.  If you have the skill set, then paddle when you know you should paddle, pop-up when you know you are on it and then simple ENJOY THE RIDE!!!

It is such a beautiful dance with such a powerful force.  There is not one thing you can do to change the wave you are on.  The only thing in that moment is to turn the mind off, get to that feeling place, relax, let go and trust.  It is more of an internal exploration experience with a sense of adventure, thrill and flow.

Usually surf sessions last an hour to a few hours.  This gives time to rest and regroup inside and find more and more peace, grace and flow.

When you snowboard, you have a little bit of say in what the snow is going to do underneath your board.  When surfing, you have absolutely no say in what the ocean is going to do.

Surfing is about life and life is about riding the waves.  We have a choice what wave choose to get on, we do not have a choice about where that wave is going.  We have the ability to turn or get off that wave…but if we learn to trust ourselves, we transition into the flow of the powerful Universe gracefully.

(The following link is not my video but it is taken at the surf spot we spent most of our time so you can get a feel of the waves)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppfzD8MsDLE[/youtube]

I am grateful for my life and the opportunities to explore and go on many adventures.  After this past visit to Costa Rica, the ebb and flow of life is forefront in my consciousness.  There is an ebb and flow to the days, the nights, work, family, friends, driving, eating…absolutely all of it.  The troughs make the peaks sweeter.  The peaks make traveling back down to the troughs exhilarating.  The most important part of all is finding internal peace so that wether at the top or the bottom while riding your waves, you remain graceful.

Peace to you as you start 2014.

 

 

DELIBERATE ACTION

“Hey Erica! There is a sloth right outside our window!” comes from the bedroom of the bungalow I was staying at in Costa Rica. In that particular instance, the girlfriend I was sharing a room with happened to look out the window. It was that particular instance she spotted him, however I am thinking that it is quite possible that she could have looked out at any point that entire morning, and maybe that entire day, and that sloth would have still been there. They do not move fast.
I saw a cartoon a few weeks back that this guy had gone to the doctor to ask why he was turning green. The doctor said something like “I would suggest you start an exercise program. You are growing moss!” The sloth is the same way. You cannot see it from this angle however the fur on his back was green, literally growing moss because he moved so slow! The picture you see is taken with my iPhone and though my arm is extended as far as it will go, the picture itself is not zoomed in. This sloth didn’t have a care in the world. We opened our window and then our screen and talked to him, made fake sloth noises (whatever those are), took tons of pictures, made a movie (its a sloth movie and incredibly boring or I would post it) and it is really true, you cannot scare a sloth!
So I sat and watched him. He just hung there, would reach out to grab a branch or a leaf in what looked like a slow-motion movie. I watched him sniff a couple leaves, then open his mouth and bite down on one, then let go of that branch and go back to chewing and hanging around. We had plans that morning which interrupted our sloth-viewing session or I would have stayed and watched for a while. They move so slowly and so deliberately, or so it seems. Their moves seem so well thought out, every millimeter planned and executed with precision. We later learned that they only go to the bathroom once a week and to do that they come down from the trees.
They are interesting creatures and have a rather mysterious feeling about them. I would say there is a real sense of the present-time consciousness when it comes to the activities during their days. There didn’t seem to be much wasted energy on stuff that didn’t matter. It reminds me of moments when I find myself really present. Its that “work smarter, not harder” idea. Be deliberate with your time and energy. Many people walk around in life almost asleep. Have you ever driven your car and arrived at your destination without even knowing what route you took to get there or what you saw along the way? Have you ever finished dinner without even knowing what the food tasted like? Have you ever logged into Facebook, turned on a video game, or sat down in front of the TV and gotten up hours later wondering how 4 hours passed without you noticing?
This sloth reminded me of being present, making conscious decisions, and taking deliberate action. It is the idea of the “herd mentality” and taking a different path then the rest of the pack. I was standing in line and waiting to bathroom before a 5k this past weekend. I was 3rd in line for what appeared to be a full 3 stall bathroom…or full because the doors were shut. After waiting for the rotation of stalls to clear, I began to notice that the 3rd stall was skipping the rotation. Breaking free from the “herd” to deliberately walk up and check to see if the door was locked revealed a free stall. Who knows how long it had been free, however the line could have moved 33% faster if we were being a little more awake, aware and deliberate. Take the next 24 hours and check in with yourself during all the activities you participate in and make sure you are awake and really living life…maybe be a little more “sloth-like” and deliberate. We only get one chance…