Surfers' Life

I’ve spent the past week surfing in Portugal and it has been one of the most thrilling experiences I’ve ever had. I can’t say I am now a surfer but I have surely had a taste of what it is to be.
Surfing is fighting against the entropy of the ocean and its waves, and every small achievement at doing so is extremely exhilarating. Surfing is tough and can be seriously dangerous, however those few seconds riding a wave are so full of ecstasy that make it all worth it.
The surfers I’ve met are so caught up by it that it has become their life completely. Everyday they wake up, check where the best waves are and just go ride them. After their sessions they may have a side job to make some money but they’re not looking for anything more than being able to maintain their lifestyle. They gather around a fire during the night singing and playing guitar before heading back to their tents for sleep.

When I asked my instructor what his ambitions were for the future he said not to have any, just staying surfing and travelling. He said he’d like to have a surfcamp of his own one day but nothing really more than that, not even becoming a professional surfer (apparently too late for him). This left me quite puzzled and not because of the unconventional life he’s planning to have for so long or the lack of desire to contribute to society. Instead, I was perplexed at how he could keep going without a goal in front of him, without a finish line to cross; that is how I and basically everyone around me operates, finish line after finish line.
The pursuit of his life seems to be much more in line with that of a religious scholar, where the main action is that of “being” rather than “becoming”. Fulfillment lies in the act of creation rather than in the creation itself. It is so easy to get caught up in the latter and live a life without noticing that all you need is the ecstasy of your first wave. At the same time it is hard to notice when a good wave is coming and know what to do to get on it: a wave doesn’t just take you with it, you have to catch up to its speed.