The Surfer’s Path
Posted on March 19, 2007 @ 9:23 AM
Surfer’s Path has asked me to write a weekly blog for this space. I am honored to do so and I am grateful for the audience that will read it.
As I sat and thought about this first entry, my focus was simply on the title page of the magazine. “Surfer’s Path” - that is actually a very heavy concept. As we all know and have experienced along the way the surfer’s path is a somewhat contrarian path to what is considered “real” (as in life, jobs, etc.) by many. The rhythms of the sea, sun, moon, wind, etc. are the laws that we follow. Our membership is in that of global community with its roots in the oceans of the world which is the only “country” that is all over the world and is fully connected to every other part of that country. Whether you surf the Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, or the Mediterranean, we are all connected by a continual and natural flow.
Think about that for a minute…when I’m in California and Alex is in the UK we are in different lands but if we are surfing and in the water at the same time we are connected by that contiguous body of water. It’s amazing! This, I believe, is why surfers are so connected throughout the globe.
If you’ve taken some time to really look at the cover page of the magazine, you also notice that the words overlay a labyrinth. A labyrinth itself has profound meaning. Please, this is not to be confused with a maze as a maze has several options while traveling through it. A labyrinth only has one way in and one way out.
A labyrinth is an ancient symbol that relates to wholeness. It combines the imagery of the circle and spiral into a meandering but purposeful path. The Labyrinth represents a journey to our own center and back again out into the world. Labyrinths are ancient designs and have long been used as meditation and prayer tools.
Think what a perfect metaphor this is for the surfer’s path. Not only do we get our wholeness from the sea but we often use our time while surfing as meditation or prayer. Everything we experience while we surf is a circle or spiral. The path we take catching wave after wave is a circle, the waves we ride are spirals, and the entire medium we do this in is circling and spiraling itself with the tides and currents that connect our “country” all over the world – and our country (the only one) circles the globe.
So, please next time you get a mag, before rushing to see a photo of your favorite surfer, place, or bikini (yes, unfortunately mostly in that order) take a minute to look at the labyrinth, say the words “surfer’s path” very slowly and think what this truly means. We are all on a path…exactly where we need to be. I’m just so thankful it’s the surfer’s path.
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