My experience at popular surf spots is that most of the surfers’ have a deeply held belief in scarcity: there are not enough waves, and they need to fight for waves if they want to have a good time. This perception leads to bad vibes, and all kinds of shenanigans and debauchery in an attempt keep others away and get more waves. For me this behavior, commonly known as localism, sours the whole surfing experience, and has lead me on a search for surf with people who are putting out positive and welcoming vibes.
Downwind SUP surfing feels like a warm embrace and is so refreshingly welcoming.
Seems like every downwind surfer has a the more the merrier belief and is always on the lookout for new people to go with. My hunch is the logistics bring out the good vibes. The waves are all over the water instead of confined to a specific geographic location like a sand bar, reef, or point. With waves all over the water and there being a strong tailwind, downwind surfers usually paddle one way and more than several miles. Usually boats or land shuttles are used to bring the surfers upwind so they can surf downwind, and sometimes the runs are in open ocean quite a ways from the shore. Cooperation is a requirement for the shuttle, and for safety it’s nice to have buddies in case something goes wrong far from shore.
The size of the playing field is so much bigger on a downwinder than say surfing a point break, so there is nothing to fight over, at least for now. Downwind SUP surfing is new, I have yet to see another surfer when on a downwind run, so even if I wanted to fight over a wave there is no one else to fight with. Someday that might change, I might look out to sea and see hundreds of downwind surfers out there. Bitter locals might take up downwinding and try to infect everyone with their fear of there not being enough.
I see downwind surfing as a great opportunity to rediscover and spread abundance.
A time tested belief that the universe is unlimited and everyone has something to offer. Ancient Polynesians, Hawaiians, and indigenous cultures share this belief that there is enough for everyone. They see value in people and all beings and view excessive competing with each other as a mental illness.
Only when we see people as separate from ourselves can we conceive of taking from each other. When we feel connected we enjoy a person riding a wave as much as if we are riding the wave. There is no separation and we both feel the same pleasure and rush. Also we value the relationship with each other more than catching a wave and getting a great ride. A friend reminded me that when a stranger rides a wave with us (drops in) we get angry and put out bad vibes, but when a friend drops in it’s okay and we share the wave and it’s fun to connect with each other.
The solution is simple: remove the separator, remove the demarcation line, practice appreciating differences, seeking common ground, and seeing the gift that each of us has to offer. It’s like the astronaut said about going up in space, looking back at the earth, and not seeing any lines separating nations. That’s because there aren’t any lines, we make them up out of fear that somebody else will take all our stuff: a poverty consciousness. How about we open our hearts, erase the lines, and realize life can be a lot more enjoyable and easier when we cooperate? I’m going to continue practicing abundance and I invite everyone to join me.
