The Zen of the Beach

The Zen of the Beach

Getting behind on a lot of things I've been meaning to write. Seems like there's just not enough hours in the day sometimes. I'd probably be a lot further along on my Poulsbo Trip Journal if I hadn't spent so much time at the beach with my son this past weekend. That's the curse of living in southern California, I guess. It never rains in the summer here, and when the sun is out and the temperature is above 70, there's nothing I'd rather do than go catch waves. (I'd probably get more writing done if I lived in Seattle.)

Yesterday when we got there the waves were bigger than they had been recently. Finally, a challenging day for body surfing. Big enough to be dangerous, if I wasn't careful. I started out catching some easy ones, while Nick paddled around on his boogie board in the shallows and tried not to get hammered by the surf. The ocean was pretty powerful Sunday. More than once after catching a wave I lost my balance and got knocked on my butt while trying to get back out to the breaker line.

Finally I worked my way out to where the bigger waves were breaking, where you had to tread water over the swells, waiting. I missed a few that I tried for (too early), and ducked under a few that I was too late for, the kind that can really thrash you if you get cocky. Finally I caught one, just a little late, but I held on, threw my weight back, and got one hell of a ride, all the way to shore. I put my hands down into the sand to stop and stood up in the shallows, a smile on my face, knowing that I had caught an excellent ride on a challenging wave.

A Japanese woman, close to my age, standing maybe fifteen or twenty feet away from me, started clapping as I stood up and shouted to me, laughing, "Hey, you're really good!" At first I was a little surprised, not expecting the compliment. But I quickly recovered and yelled back "Thanks!" and headed back out, in search of the next wave.

I looked back towards the shore. The lady was with an older grey-haired Japanese woman who appeared to be her mother. The two of them were standing in the shallows trying to keep their footing against the surf, more often than not getting knocked over into the water, after which they would stand back up laughing. They were having a great time playing in the surf, acting just like children.

Later on, while drying in the sun, I thought about this and glanced around at my fellow beachgoers. A woman lying on a towel, looking content while reading a paperback. Children happily riding boogie boards, tumbling in the foam. A young couple standing in the shallows, splashing and daring each other to jump into the cold water. A group of teenagers playing volleyball, laughing and playfully teasing each other over missed shots. A father holding his toddler daughter's hands while she squeals, waves splashing at her feet...

...The Zen of the beach, living in the moment. Where adults play like children, all cares forgotten, having fun in the sun...