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Transcript:
So I guess this is a voice diary of sorts, or a micro podcast? I don’t know? Anyway. The other night, me and my mate, Lauren had just come in from a surf at Ōrewa, our local break in Auckland, and we sort of had this epiphany walking back to the car, that “that surf was magical”. And we couldn't quite put our finger on what word to use to describe it, but it was like this little surge of swell that came out of nowhere at about 6:30, when it was getting to that fine line where it's not dusk and it's not complete nighttime. You know, when it's sort of that murky shade of grey, and everything's a little bit blurred, and intricate detail past 3 meters is just incomprehensible, and the vibrant colour of the day has sort of been zapped out of existence. And we were pretty much surfing in that! Which on paper sounds pretty shit, but we just had the most magical time. And it wasn't just 'cause a surge swell rolled through at 6:30 and we had it all to ourselves. It was one of those surfs where you couldn't see any of the waves out to sea, you couldn't see a set coming, you couldn't pick and choose your waves. Most of the time, you saw a wave maybe two or three meters in front of you, and you'd just turn around and paddle for your life and go for it. And sometimes you would have to adapt, you wouldn't quite feel like you're in the right position, and you'd just sort of have to trust you gut, and make the most of it. You'd come off it feeling so euphoric that you'd just wanna paddle straight back out to the darkness again.
I guess it was like this weird connection to “moments of chance” in your life and making the most of opportunities or people or experiences that just come out of left field. And it's not like you've got the clarity of daytime, or have time to prepare or build up an expectation for how it should be. It's not like you can see the second or third wave of the set and know you're going to get that one and it's going to be great. And if it's not great, then you might be disappointed, or maybe it surpasses your expectations. But sometimes things just come out of nowhere, and you just have to appreciate them for what's right in front of you. Even if you don't quite feel like you're in the right spot, guess you've just got to trust yourself and adapt as you go. And for the most part, when you come out of that experience, you shouldn't be thinking, “man, that sucks that that wave's over.” You should just be taking it as evidence that more of these chance encounters will happen, and sometimes they can be the best waves of your life. Like me and Lauren were out there, and some of them turned out to be incredible. Some of them were average. But we weren't disappointed that we got on them, 'cause we were still proud of ourselves that we made the most of a little chance wedge that just peaked up out of nowhere, or this gorgeous right that would be peeling for ages. And you wouldn't dwell on the fact that that wave is now gone. And even though you knew that you wouldn't be able to see what the next wave was that was coming, I guess you could just trust that it would. Like me and Lauren paddling back out, we should have gone in half an hour before we did, but we just kept going, we couldn't get enough of it.
I used to be always on the side of reason, like everything had to “happen for a reason”. That was, kind of, how I attached meaning to things in life. But it's so much simpler than that. And I remember having a conversation with a friend not long ago, and he believed that everything sort of happened by chance, and you just had to appreciate what was right in front of you for what it was, and make the most of it and adapt as you go. And sometimes those can be the most magical experiences. And I guess it made me think, and then this novelty little surf in Ōrewa, I guess, made me retrace those thoughts a little bit. And now I make the most of those chances a little bit more than I used to. A bit cheesy. But anyway.
Surfing's cool. Go with your gut. Make the most of the chance shit (it's the good stuff).
Anyway, over and out!