Back in the day before leg-ropes, thrusters, multinational surfing companies and over-priced branded accessories made in third-world countries, all a surfer needed was their board, some water skills and a few good waves. Times may have changed, the beaches - and the waves – are certainly more crowded, surf magazines scream merchandise and encourage consumerism and it sometimes seems that everyone from rapacious banks to big auto is using our activity to align themselves as cooler than they really are; it’s easy to think that all the good things about surfing went out with the tide in the good old days. That’s where the seven virtues come in. So the next time you are sitting out the back waiting for a wave, consider how many of surfing virtues you can commit to…
Faith – You have to have faith that the ocean will deliver; that when you give away a good wave to someone else, that another will come along for you, either today or tomorrow. It also means faith in your own surfing skills and ability, in having a positive attitude to surfing and your life beyond it.
Hope – This is essential when the surf hits a flat spot, when synoptic charts show highs like tadpoles in a pond, when all you can see is flatsky. Stay faithful to surfing, eventually the waves will return and surfing will be faithful to you.
Charity – you must be charitable. A leaner runs into you? Recall your own beginner days when you were as graceful as a buffalo on roller-skates. A surfer’s leg-rope snaps? You help them recover their board. Someone unfamiliar with the beach? You point out the rips and sweeps. A jerk drops in? Easier to pull off and get the next one, rather than upset your good mood by getting into fisticuffs (see Justice). But don’t confuse charity with washiness. Which leads us to…
Fortitude – This is what gets us up at dawn on a freezing winter weekend, compels us to enter the icy waves and paddle out despite losing any feeling in toes and fingers while enduring an ice-cream headache. It’s about pressing on when you feel your’e never going to get the hang of a cutback or hang five. It’s also about enjoying your surfing despite the fact you probably won’t be giving Layne or Kelly any competition anytime soon and being comfortable with that. It’s also about being strong and resisting bullies on the wave or on the beach. Anyone stupid enough to drop in on someone keen enough to surf mid-winter chop is asking for trouble.
Justice – Being fair and equitable with other surfers and yourself. After waiting for ages, a fabulous wave comes along and banishes all memory of cold, choppy and junky surf endured before; when you scrape and save to buy a new (or second hand) board and it makes you into the surfer you have always dreamed of being; when that nasty bully-boy who’s been a blight on the waves by hassling others, wipes out big time; when the underdog wildcard gets up and makes good.
Prudence – not surfing the sulky, sucky, reef-exposing 12ft surf despite your mates taunting; checking your leg-rope before paddling out; not leaving your key on your back tyre in the car park; carrying a spare pair of contacts lens in your board bag; checking the surf before paddling out; looking out for your mates; not surfing alone, before dawn, after dusk, with a dog or on a river mouth – you know the drill.
Temperance – Keeping fit and healthy so you can enjoy your surfing. Being able to paddle out in rough surf, emerge unscathed from wipe-outs and help another surfer in trouble is all part of the deal. Temperance does not mean not enjoying your food or wine, it means being healthier in mind, body and sou so you’ll get more stoke from your surfing.
No comments:
Post a Comment