I recently had a conversation with someone about assets, you know the house, car, substantial savings in the bank kind of assets. I was asked a rhetorical question of “so what do you have to show for all this travelling?” amidst a reeling conversation. I knew immediately that question was intended to be talking about material assets or assets of “apparent” “worth”. I tend to take a while to think things through, usually in the form of overthinking, and 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”.
I can be reckless and at times irresponsible with money. To be honest I’ve never really been good with it but I’m working on it- everyone has their weaknesses and I can safely say that money is mine. But you know what? I have assets, they’re just not visible to most people’s eyes.
To me health is my number one asset. If I’m out in the water surfing for hours it’s one of the best cardio workouts I can think of and I’m taking in an abundance of vitamin D from
the sun (sometimes a bit too much). The beneficial properties of salt water has been well documented and reported on. Salt water contains many trace elements and vitamins, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, keeping my skin fresh and healthy. In addition to physical health I have mental health dialled in simultaneously. My mind is so focused on the waves, patterns and colours in the sky and watching tidal effects (to name a few) that I’m very rarely thinking about what’s been happening in my life on land. Talk to any surfer and they will all relay the same kind of almost meditative state out there. I guess that’s where Isak Dinesen’s quote comes in “The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea.”
To surf for hours I need to fuel my body with the right kind of foods, therefore surfing 
goes hand in hand with a healthy diet. That’s why I choose to be vegetarian with the exception of seafood. I know if I follow a raw diet derived predominantly from nature I’m going to have a clean and long-lasting supply of energy, one very unique from the short energy burst that comes from sugar and other refined products.
I see another powerful asset as the sheer experience of surfing perfect waves around the world. How could that not be an asset? It’s a surfer’s dream to be able to paddle lineups they have been drooling over for years (sometimes a lifetime) from their favourite surf movie or magazine. You simply can’t put a price tag on a perfect wave or a solid barrel, it’s something you cannot buy with paper money. When you find yourself in some foreign country, you get to experience cultures entirely different from your own and learn how to travel the right way (and the very wrong way). I can think of many people who would never leave the comfort zone and safety of “home” due to deeply embedded fears about travelling and it takes courage to make the leap. Sometimes travelling can be measured to a level of extreme survival (see my story here) which can be life changing and your perspective of the world will never be what it used to be prior to departure. Ka-ching, another asset in the bank.
Ocean knowledge. Oh those days when it’s big and stormy and you’re very quickly put in your place up against mother nature. You’re an ant in a very big and wild arena. So many times I’ve thought of someone on land, one of those someones who live in a bubble, those someones who lead fake lives- I think of them and would love to place them in a situation against a big wave, shake them out of their shallow pretentious living and see how they would make it out alive- then see their viewpoints and values change entirely. Again-it’s all perspective.
Basically, any “asset” such as a car, piece of expensive furniture or electronic device is going to de-value over time, sometimes very rapidly. However, all of the above assets are with you for life, or at least into your very old years as long as your memory serves you.
stomach and an uncontrollable grin after an epic session. 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 sport. It’s a selfish pursuit to spend what spare time we can chasing the most perfect wave, the one better than the last, the barrel bigger than the one before, the glassier session, the longer swell period, just more and more perfection and more and more expectations of what the ocean can offer us. Put millions of fellow surfers together pursuing that same thing and that selfishness multiplies. I had had enough of the crowded lineups, the aggression, the drop-ins, the surf slang, the ego and the masculine, I gradually realised what it was I needed- time out from surfing.
opened up to a different culture and part of the world I never thought I would explore. I was able to eagerly watch and learn the peaceful Buddhist ways, their daily rituals and most importantly what it was that they held dear to their hearts. I recognised similarities in the way they returned daily to the beautifully constructed temples of prayer, because in those temples I saw a vast ocean. In a strange way, the influence of another culture around me forced me to reinvent myself from the inside out. For so long I had placed myself in the constricted box that is the surfing scene. I was able to distinguish my valuables from the invaluables, recall the forgettable from the unforgettable and strengthen the bonds with those that mattered most back home.
and a form of unique self-expression. To call yourself good, to me, is how well do you know what you’re playing with? How much attention do you really, truly pay to the ocean and her creations. Do you feel as comfortable or as content surfing 2ft as you do 12? Do you draw on every ounce of your experience to pull yourself out of life threatening moments at sea? Do you understand just how very small and insignificant you are against her power? What’s more important, getting air and hacking every section of a wave apart, or style? To me it’s style, because without that you’re not really anything out there.
know him as Huey. So what are you going to do here with all this magic? There’s no one to impress, no worry about self-image, judgements, what brand your wetsuit is, who your shaper is, how much you spent on your haircut, no need to battle for waves, it’s just pure, you and the ocean. It’s time to dance, it’s time to slow things right down, so much so that when you take off on that wave it’s almost like you can see every droplet of water, every section of that wave as a perfect creation, every part of that lip as it strikes a chord with the wind, the shape, the colour, the patterns- this is the dance floor, the canvas. Draw some lines, gouge that tail into the green wall, watch the spray as it’s sent skywards only to be pulled back by gravity and back to where it came from. The energy is just so mind boggling when you find yourself in these moments of solitude. I still struggle to answer that question you asked me. Never mind, it’s not important anyway.
giraffes in the outback. To me, those type of dreams are just plain weird and I can never find any foreseeable explanation of what just occurred in my mind imagery. The type I want to talk about are certain places I seem
return to this same place each night for up to two weeks until the scene manifests in my reality. In this case I was living in Northern Thailand at the time of these dreams and ended up on a completely random weekend trip away to a lush forest area full of mysterious ancient temples and caves. When I arrived at the forest I had a sense of familiarity wash over me and the memory of those repeated dreams came flooding back to me. After that weekend I no longer continue these same dreams.
man I was deeply connected with, but at the same time I couldn’t find him and he would vanish from my side like a puff of smoke each and every dream. The dream would then take me to an unknown city, a really busy environment with lots of people moving in many different directions around me and I felt so incredibly alone to be in a city that I hated. I was overwhelmed to be in such a busy place when I knew my current home was set amidst a dense jungle, where waterfalls tethered off into tropical lagoons.
to first practice with meditation and mindfulness. I had a friend who claimed he just didn’t have dreams at all and really couldn’t understand some of the dreams I described to him that I had. He only just began practicing yoga and was brand new to the world of meditation. It wasn’t until he attended a 10 day Vipassana retreat that he was able to still his mind enough to begin recalling his night dreams. Upon his return from the retreat he ecstatically described his new discovery of a peaceful mind and dream occurrences. Vipassana can be perfectly described as below:
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. When I took myself away from my existence as a surfer and placed myself in a large city in Northern Thailand for two months, I honed
The history of astrology is just as captivating as the mystery. The Polynesian culture is renowned for their abilities to successfully and navigate thousands upon thousands of miles of open ocean (the Hokule’a) solely being guided by the patterns of nature. Their biggest natural compass is the night sky. They track specific star patterns and motions that guide them in the direction of their intended travel. This is the same pattern that birds use for navigation. The degree of accuracy is absolutely mind boggling. Read more here: 
due to the positioning of certain planets. One certain astrologist I tune into each week is a guy called “Kaypacha”. Ok so he’s a long haired eccentric looking guy with rings on every finger, feathers in his hair and a quirky sense of humour- but he knows what he’s talking about. He has an in-depth three-dimensional computer program and he will walk you through where the planets are currently sitting and what that all means in layman(ish) terms. Follow the page “Mystic Mamma” on Facebook as they post his weekly reports. At the time of writing this the latest report is here 
actually follow this? In summer I become pretty close to this pattern as there’s more light to surf with. The point I’m getting at is when you find yourself in the city, watch as many sunrises and sets as you possibly can to keep your body in rhythm! My most memorable attempt to catch sunset was when I went on a mission to find the perfect spot to take a photo of the setting sun, away from the endless rows of houses and estates. I skated my way down a big hill, walked up the next hill preparing myself for a breathtaking view on top of the world, only to be faced with another rolling hill stacked with houses. So on I went until I made it to the top of the biggest hill and sat on my board exhausted but greeted by a fiery sky and an approaching storm. As the sun set, dark clouds rolled over and thunder began to roar. A classic electrical storm began to form and lightning covered the sky in long forked patterns. That’s when I got a little too close for comfort. The storm literally passed right over my head and lightning began to strike earthward. One was so close to me I felt the heat coming off it and quickly got on my skates out of there! I got a little more than I bargained for, but it sure beat sitting inside the house watching the 6pm news like the rest of the zombified city.
foods that are from the earth contain so much life force, especially ones you pick “live” such as bean sprouts. Growing in popularity are little mini-pots of sprouts or spinach that you can sit on your window sill, babysit and add to your salads when you like. I’ve even seen them in big chain supermarkets and I love this positive influence. Wherever you are in the city you can almost always grow your own herbs or small vegetables. Even in an inner city apartment you can do this on a window sill or balcony.
Taking your mind into a place outside of thought and just allowing yourself to sit in stillness is vital for staying sane in cities that never “sleep”. It is also especially important if, like the majority of us, are locked
Surfchickareta 