Riding the Wave
{Enjoy further context} "You can't have space which is unoccupied by any solid. You cannot have solid not occupying some space. This is absolutely elementary and yet we don't realize it, because—for example—the average person thinks that space is nothing... that it's just a sort of not-there-ness in which there are things. And we are slightly afraid that 'not-there-ness'... that nothingness, that darkness—the negative poles of all these oppositions—will win... that they will eventually swallow up every kind of being and every kind of 'there-ness.' But when you catch on to the game, you realize that that won't happen, because what is called 'not existing' is quite incapable of being there without the contrast of something called 'existing.' It's like the crest and the trough of a wave; you can't have a wave that is all trough and no crest just as you can't have a wave which is all crest and no trough. Such a thing has never been manifested in the physical universe. They go together. And that is the secret. There really is no other secret than that." ~Alan Watts [from Instagram account @celebrating_alanwatts]
I just returned from a Saturday morning surf. Last night I went to sleep anticipating an early wake-up to hit the waves at sunrise. Instead, thunderclouds shrouded the sun while I slept through a theoretical alarm I never set. But I still managed to get out there in the biggest surf we’ve seen since I arrived on Monday. Not that conditions should matter much to me. My proficiency in riding the barrels is still stuck at the “stay away from barrels and stick to the whitewash” level.
The following should sound familiar to those who remember learning to surf. The waves battered me as I paddled out, then tossed me end-over-end on my first attempt. Past the breaks again, I haplessly tried swimming to the other surfers nearby, fighting the current sweeping down the shore. I was lucky to stay in one place. It became apparent I wouldn’t be getting close to the other locals, and perhaps that was for the best. Better to focus solely on the 6-footers crashing around me without also having to mind other surfers whose rides I might ruin and whose boards might ruin my face.
Plotting my next drop into the larger waves became increasingly intimidating. I thought about calling it off after less than 10 minutes. Instead, I decided to make the most of it and practice improving my still-poor technique. And I found my sweet-spot. I waded out past the smaller, late breakers, spotted the baddest waves of the set…and then waited until they broke to ride the still-powerful whitewash. That satisfaction and slice of joy, known to all surfers, returned each time I popped up and rode towards shore. I kept it up for a few more rides. Finally, exhausted from fighting the sideways current and realizing I was hundreds of yards down from where I started, I brought myself in. I was drained and tranquil at once.
Sun makes way for moon on my first night in Byron
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I scrolled onto the post up top a few days ago in a moment of insta-inspiration-surfing. It resonated given my location and the journey I’ve taken geographically, mentally and spiritually in the past six months. It’s been about that long since I last posted here but it feels even longer.
Typically, our perception of time speeds up as we get older. I feel no different as I settle into the back half of my 33rd year on the globe. I hardly believe the words I hear when I tell people I’ve been traveling for over 15 months. Where did they go?
And yet, although the past half year produced some incredibly high crests, it provided more than a few of troughs to slow time and seem twice that. Get this; life on the road isn’t all glamor-shot snaps and giggles. It’s still life and might deal you bad hands no matter where you are. How you play them is the crucial bit.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m still stupidly grateful to be traveling, still out on whatever mission it is I initially set out on. There isn’t much I can imagine I would trade this collective experience for right now.
By example, a few weeks ago, I finished my first day driving west on the picturesque Great Ocean Road in a town called Apollo Bay. After getting to my hostel, I saw I couldn’t restart the car I was borrowing. Asking around for a jump, I met two women staying there who were happy to help in the morning. We ended up chatting late into the night about politics, life, and on and on. At one point I spoke about doubts about my being here in Australia and where I should be instead. One of them — the therapist, of course — replied, “Maybe you are exactly where you need to be.” I realized with a smile how right she was, and I grinned down the road the next day.
Now, I find myself at a beachside hostel in bodacious Byron Bay (Bae? Sorry, I couldn't help myself). LeBron and his Cavs are on TV, and they're ON tonight/today. Down three games to none and facing elimination in the Finals, they're fighting rabidly to extend their bid for the title. They won’t take it this year, but they nabbed a sweet, if small, consolation prize: most points in one quarter of any Finals game. At the same time, I’m starting again what I’ve been promising myself since January to do a lot more of but haven’t: Writing. I may be down 6 months with 0 posts, but I'm not finished yet. I’d like to make good on that promise and bring you up to speed with where I’ve been, in all senses.
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I sent that “insta-inspo” to a chat with a few close buddies right after I saw it. Per their nature, they launched a familiar, mocking snark-attack. I can’t blame them nor did it surprise me — I’d heard it plenty before and again, that's their nature. And I admit, it was a bit of obvious, easy philosophizing by proxy.
But what if we (We) too quickly or too often gravitate towards irreverence, irony and dismissal of anything more than superficial, even in casual situations, virtual or real? I think we’re missing something by consistently being attracted to that easy out.
A few months ago, I was caught in a Youtube rabbit-hole while back home in NYC (or rather a friend’s place in BK — thanks again, JB and MK). The suggestions on my friend’s account led me to this. Since then, I've tumble-dried around my head the message of the video and it’s provenance, the words of the late, great David Foster Wallace.
“What passes for hip cynical transcendence of sentiment is really some kind of fear of being really human, since to be really human [...] is probably to be unavoidably sentimental and naïve and goo-prone and generally pathetic.”
― David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest
DFW advocated for elevation of our cultural discourse by reducing aimless irony and replacing with greater sincerity. I took his message to heart.
These days, you don’t have to look far to get your fill of irony and cynicism. Hopefully what comes from me will be a tiny effort to balance that. Expect a mix of reflection on what I’ve seen and felt on my travels as well as findings in the ethers of the web and the thoughts of others.
I know my boys are not full-on cynical bastards and more so that they mean well. To be fair, they’ve improved their devilish ways lately, far as I can tell. There’s a time and place for both and I don’t expect to abandon irony and sarcasm from the repertoire. But even more than in the past, I’m not going to be afraid to speak what I think and how I feel, however syrupy or saccharine it appears on the surface.
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It's late afternoon and I just got back from my second session of the day. The rain stopped but the onshore wind picked up, chopping up the smaller waves. The current was also pulling harder down the shore to the west. If my form this morning was shaky, this afternoon it was straight-up laughable. I kept at it for a couple of tries before realizing why there were no other surfers out — the conditions were crap. But I still had fun. It was wonderful just to be out on the water, trying. The ocean was where I needed to be today.
And that’s what I’m going to do from here on. Despite the conditions, I’ll keep at it, earnestly, whatever It is I want or need to be doing.
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Alright, six months into ’17, let’s make this a prolific year. Aside from more “deep-dive” blog posts, I'm starting a travel rec section on the site.
Enough people asked me in the past year for my input on where to go and what to do when there, I’d like to provide a resource for you in future travels. The first posts will be of cities/areas I’ve already sent to friends.
I’ve updated my travel map -- see the home page-- to be current through my time in Byron. If you're thinking of traveling, or even if not, take a look at the map. If you like, send me feedback below in the comments, email or Facebook on places you would like to hear my take on. Otherwise, I’m going to start with my “favorites,” although that’s such a tough category to dial in.
For now, please enjoy some shots not seen on my Instagram from the last six months:
Click to enlarge, folks