All the energies of life travel in waves – light waves, sound waves, heat waves. The waves that run through water are generated far out to sea when contrasting heat and cold generate wind which is transferred into the water in the form of kinetic energy. These energy waves travel for hundreds, even thousands of miles before they reach the shore and spend themselves. The fascinating thing about waves is that they carry energy, and that energy does not die but is rather transported and translated into new forms. Light waves are photosynthesized in plants, turning the sunlight into life; that life grows into leaves that eventually fall to the earth and restore nutrients to the soil, leaving the energy for more life. What then do we take from the wave? Perhaps the energy is translated into us in some form that we do not understand but only feel. And there is no feeling like it in the world.

One incredible thing about surfing is that it allows – no, requires us to turn off our verbal minds. In the surf, we cease to think in words and abstract concepts. The waves turn on a different part of our brains, and we begin to think only in terms of time and space. We become creatures of the planet, united to it in a way that is intimate beyond words.