Somewhere, I developed an interest in conquering the waves. The tide has been high and I have taken to body-surfing. Every time i visit the sea i am more amazed than the last. The waves are very mathematical .. like life ... and I wonder if they contributed to the mathematical genius of the ancient Mayan culture. It is easy to understand how the sea must have given insight to centuries of peoples -- especially those of centuries to go with nothing else to look to but their environment.
With riding the waves, I learned that I have no successful choice except to go with the flow of the surge. If a huge wave is coming then I have to swim towards it and get on top of it at just the right moment to ride it or it will take me under. It is easy to tell when a big one is on it's way via beachcombers up beach screaming.
Today a large guy was running away from a wave and that did not work, of course. The swells are fast and strong. I've seen many people run only to get knocked over. When the waves are really tall, like over half as tall as I, then I like to look back at the white-cap when it passes me by so that i can watch it crash and laugh at my delusion that I actually "conquered" the wave. Sometimes I see people get totally wiped out by it.
So, ocean life is like human life:
- Standing hesitantly near the edge is worse than going in because the crash is so much harder there and it takes longer to recover. You may as well jump in.
- You have to take what hits you get and make them work for you -- not let them work against you.
- Running away does not work. Face up to curl.
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