WE TOY WITH SOFTER WAYS TO COMMUNICATE ALL THOSE NEEDS THAT SUDDENLY ARISE WITH THE ARRIVAL OF THIS TINY BABY, FOR WE KNOW HARSH WORDS CAN CUT DEEP INTO OUR TENDER MINDS. WORDS THAT RETURN TO THE MEMORY, IN THE STILLNESS OF ANOTHER SLEEPLESS NIGHT…
My daughter
in just one glance she teaches me to move with more grace. To slow down. There’s no need to rush. Mummy. Let me drift off to sleep on your chest. My favourite place. Everything else can wait. In the silence of our moments. Let that old self shed…
The filling of the cup
Pregnancy in a time of chaosAs intoxicating as it is, surfing will only fill your cup to a certain level. It just took me all of my teens and twenties to figure that one out. Because back then I would’ve laughed at anyone even suggesting that there might be something equally, or more fulfilling than riding waves. I was just so absolutely obsessed with surfing. That was my world as I knew it. Then, a strange little flame started to burn somewhere in the depths of my body, one which fuelled fleeting thoughts of whether there was something more that life had to offer…
On my early morning barefoot wanders next to the ocean with my big belly out, I often wonder what passerbys think of a pregnant woman in the times of a global pandemic. I hope that they don’t feel pity for her, but rather that they think she is a strong and brave woman. It would be easy to fall into a victim mindset if I allowed myself to go there. Especially as circumstances tug the mind in undesirable directions…
Faded desire
Pave the path to your dreamsI wake from my afternoon nap in a panic. The late golden sun melting below the palm trees, the wind creating dancing shadows of jagged palm fronds across my turquoise bed sheet. The scent of smoke from a nearby fire drifts through the cracked window, reminding me of the many remote and tropical islands of which my younger self ventured through…read more
So often you might put yourself in a holding pattern without even realising it. Being held to that job you hate, that dissatisfied relationship and a town you really never wanted to live in. We are so programmed to only notice all the ‘what is’ in our lives, and from those observations believe sometimes that ‘this is the way it will always be’. This restricts us so much in the way we dream…
How to master your flow state and score more waves
Just with events on land, there’s no forcing things to happen, as it starts to become unnatural. And it’s exactly the same in the water. You have to bring a special kind of mindset with you.When you drop the neediness, and the high expectations, or any expectations at all, then you’ll feel that flow state that you’re after…
What’s your likeability?
More and more I find that I’m trying to re-create a positive view in my mind of social media. But it’s a challenge because for me it’s always been a love, hate relationship. I mean how many of us critically judge our likeability based on our amount of likes? We return to our screens every ten minutes after we make a post, curious to see how many of our friends have responded…
Travelling through Muslim countries as a solo female
“You’re exotic to anyone you pass by. But if adventure is alive in your heart, these culture shocks are the eye-opening experiences are exactly what you’re chasing. The ones that make you appreciate the laidback lifestyle you likely left behind in your home country…”
Why women were born to surf. And have babies
And that’s where it struck me. We jokingly made mention of our cupcake baking besties and their direct experiences of childbirth, and how they differed from those that she knew as surfers. The environment is more of a rough, testosterone filled line-up, where your cute bikini doesn’t mean much in these rough habitats. And no I’m not talking about the dance of male pursuing female, although I now see it reads alike. I’m actually referring to…
The Progression of Gratitude
Spiritual junkies will tell you that gratitude is one of the key foundations to ultimate enlightenment. And I’m not judging them because I’m a junkie too. But what happens on those days where everything just seems to fall apart, and all of what your life is made of is seemingly crumbling before your eyes? Well you’ve simply found yourself out of alignment from where you’re supposed to be. Practicing gratitude by starting…
The joys of giving
The Greatness of Abraham HicksI ask whether they butter the toast right to the very edges. Their excitement builds as I fabricate my interest for gains of their happiness. I love to play this little game the most. It’s selfless because many people would rather be..
Those rants I’ve noticed are pure examples of the ways we need to re-train our belief systems that we hold onto so dearly, so that they align with our desires and dreams. To drown out those old thought habits that are leading us anywhere but in the direction of our dreams…
Wild and Free
Exotic solo travel. Surfing heavy waves breaking over shallow reef shelves. Nipple piercings. Tattoos. Serious injuries in remote islands. Broken relationships. Quitting jobs. Suns and moons rising over inverted oceans. These are just some of the things that come to mind, when I think of my past few years on this spinning globe called earth. Most of which mould and solidify my…
Slaying Dragons- The toxic characters of our lives
These are the realisations that have the potential to shape the most vibrant futures, where dreams can be fulfilled in their entirety. These moments are not mediocre events. In the end it is the destroyer of hearts that must face their own darkness…
Why you should know about the psoas muscle
Daily HabitsIt’s amazing to realise the level in which stress affects not only your emotional, but your physical body. Particularly the amount of tension your muscles hold as a result of that built up stress. I’ve been practicing yoga for the past ten years and couldn’t imagine a life without it. I’d say there’s nothing better matched to a life as a surfer
Nature’s own rhythmI believe integrating small yet healthy habits each and every day is the key to long term success, overall health and living a truly enriched life. The way in which you move about your day today is an accumulation of previous habits formed over time. Routine used to be the root of all evil for me…
Passion lives hereI remembered it all but at the same time forgot so much.
I forgot what it was like to sit alone as the weather started to turn.
Beating to its own unmistakeable rhythm.
Black clouds arrived seemingly out of nowhere, as though they were ready to perform at a circus. The calm air quickly turned into a ferocious wind…
What if you lifted all the pressure off yourself to perform in the blank areas of your life where your passion does not live and focused on the aspects you could never get enough of? Being a great lover. A great surfer. An adventurer and a free-spirit whose soul could never be touched by anyone that comes into your space…
I’m a big believer in not only feeding your body with the right nutrition but also feeding your mind with nutritional goodness. In a modern era where we are incredibly overloaded with information, thanks to the development of smart phones, it can be hard to gauge just how much we are being bombarded with information…(read more)
I feel my fiercely independent nature weaving into my daily life most profoundly when I sit still. I’m a wanderer, a drifter, a gypsy who’s never really found a home other than in the hearts of those whose souls call to converse with mine. But more often than not, I find my home in the ocean because it’s lines seem to run deeper than the thread of another.
Giving myself some much needed time out from my own hardness, I’ve discovered a message that keeps rising up from inside- with passion comes a deep love and a desire for life itself. When you extract passion, the days seem dull and lacking in colour and you can rather unconsciously begin to give up hope…(read more)
Spiritual truth to me governs and moves my entire being. I’m eternally grateful for various events and experiences that have shattered my universe and all of the times that ripped reality from my very grasp. These are the moments that enabled me to discover spirit…(read more)
From this first experiment I have continually allowed this same concept to shape other areas of my life such as impassable opportunities overseas, treacherous and fearful moments travelling solo and allowing love to show up in my life. Visualisation can become a powerful tool in achieving whatever it is you set…(read more)
As long as you cannot forgive, you have others permanently anchored in your heart. A lot of the feelings associated with the lack of forgiveness are hate, regret, grief and anger. How could you possibly open up in intimate relationships when you are weighed down by these toxic egoic emotions? The answer is you cannot severe that attachment
Living on a predominately plant-based diet is a kind of energy that cannot be described unless you experience it for yourself. The same concept exists when it comes to the feeling of riding a wave, only a surfer knows that magic feeling. This to me is one of the great wonders of life …(read more)
The moon is big in the night sky, illuminating the towering volcanic mountains and bringing the ocean beneath my feet to life. Reef sharks frequently pass by, blatantly weaving around my fishing line baited with fresh tuna from last night’s dinner, on the hunt for something bigger…(read more)
From what I believe to be true, as per the figures, cancer will soon be not only 90-95% linked to environmental and lifestyle factors but 100% responsible. I was never of the belief that genetics played any factor whatsoever in cancer-but what would I know?..(read more)
Instead of desperately trying to spend your last penny at the overpriced souvenir shops at the airport prior to leaving the country, because the foreign currency will be of no use back home, pocket it! Why? Because it’s the perfect solution if you have a short layover over…(read more)
If you have taken the time over the course and events of your life to get to know yourself inside out, and I mean truly know yourself- your strengths, your shortfalls, your typical emotional reactions, then you should remember one very important thing…(read more)
It wasn’t until I was out in the water days later that I solidified all the reasons why I do what I do. I was eventually able to answer in my own mind “what do I have to show for all this travelling”…(read more)
The ocean is my happy place, my church, my solace, my calm and most importantly my home. I just realised something was missing, something had been overdone or lost, overlooked, neglected, untouched- I just didn’t know what. See, we as surfers just become so consumed in the…(read more)
I don’t know. Well I mean, I’m just not quite sure how to answer your question, it’s so damn broad, can you narrow it down a little? Can I do it for you? It’s kind of like asking an artist if they are a good artist, by whose standards are we talking? Surfing is an art, no wait, it’s like dancing. How about, dancing meets art meets nature..(read more)
I’m a big believer in dreams carrying significant messages or images of the predication of the future places, people or situations you might encounter. I also believe strongly in Déjà vu and its powerful meaning and confirmation that you are on the right path in life. Surely Déjà vu is intertwined with some parts of our dreams, either that or…(read more)
As a surfer I love to be in tune with nature. It becomes a necessity in order to make the most of the ocean. The tides, the wind, the moon cycle, weather patterns, the formation of highs and lows and structure of the ocean floor. I’ll never grow tired of watching a big glowing moon rise over the ocean…(read more)
With recent occurrences of shark attacks on the rise on the East Coast of Australia, I guarantee there are many surfers out there who are reminded of any close calls they have had in the past. See my close encounter here. Aside from this pretty close call, I have had an even more terrifying experience where I was almost knocked off my board by some creature…(read more)
The sound of skull crunching on jagged reef is something I never want to hear again in my lifetime. After surfacing from beneath after my first wave of the session, I recall not having enough time to get on my board, let alone duck dive the next wave of the set. Standing in waist deep water…(read more)
We already feel like a part of the family as we stash our bikes at the boat shed on the edge of a turquoise blue ocean. The iron roof held down by chunks of coral, a dirty concrete floor and a broken timber window propped up by an empty vodka bottle. We tiptoe inside to see if anyone is awake, we hear …(read more)
Two months straight spent in the remote Mentawai Islands in Northern Indonesia is such an incredible amount of time to bask in waves beyond perfection. Time itself becomes an illusion and having no rules to be dictated by makes life taste so sweet. However I was certainly ready to escape back into the “real world” for a break and to re-appreciate life in the islands…(read more)
I’m alone on a remote island densely covered in jungle. All outside guests of the surf camp had left two days prior, leaving just myself and two owners of the camp, one of which is my now estranged boyfriend. In a heartbeat he had dictated my own love for him as non-existent. His delusion and insecurity…(read more)
With no sign of any Westerner, she passed cautiously through the rotted wooden boat catching glimpses of dark faces peering through the shanty cabins intrigued by her blonde hair and tan skin. Given the spontaneity of the six-month journey she quickly realised that her basic Indonesian would not serve her in this situation..(read more)
Close to three days of tedious, but thrilling solo travel from airport to airport, port to port, island to island. The weather didn’t offer the most comforting arrival, for she decided to let the swells rise and the winds roar across the open ocean, whipping up bucketloads of water to soak everything within the age…(read more)
It was one of those waves that just had a sharky feeling about it. A close friend of mine had let me in on his discovery of a section of the coast that was a swell magnet. He had never seen any other surfer even come down to check the surf, just a bunch of old fisherman trying their luck for “catch of the day”. I must say I was pretty excited when he …(read more)
While I can’t recall the exact reason I was feeling so down this day, it was most likely another heartache story from an ex-boyfriend. All I know is I absolutely craved the touch of ocean on my skin and to once again experience the surreal feeling of riding those magnificent waves. I eagerly ran down the secluded sandy track through the lush forest to check the conditions…(read more)
I’m waiting out the front of the school gates with my backpack; whistling nervously with a guilty conscience playing on my mind. The day was to begin with my English class with Mrs Watson but I knew the night before I wasn’t going to be sitting at that wooden desk reading To Kill a Mockingbird. I remember finding one of those old “school excursion” forms…(read more)
Surfchickareta 
Woohoo! I’m one story in and can’t wait to read the rest. Awesome!!
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