by Clay Schmitz | Jun 29, 2016 | adventures, articles
I’m sitting on the lanai in Maui enjoying breakfast after a really fun surf at the break we can see from the kitchen window. The enjoyment of the sound of the waves breaking and the birds singing is interrupted by the roar of leaf blowers and a sit down lawnmower. Cue the phrase “first world problems”, and that’s when it sank in how far from natural this development is.
The monthly Home Owners Association (HOA) dues at this gated community in Maui are around $800 and where I live in California are $380. Both grounds are beautiful and very well taken care of, and at the same time I’m wondering where are the crops, the orchard, and the fruit trees? Every Tuesday a full crew of people come and mow the lawns and blow the leaves for what is usually a full days work. What if instead of taking the mowed grass and tree trimmings to the landfill they left…
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by Clay Schmitz | Jun 6, 2016 | adventures, articles
When my first wife left me I was living in her house, in her neighborhood, next door to her brother and his wife, and most of my social relations were with their friends. So the day she walked out I lost most of my community and to say I felt isolated, lonely, and terrified would be a massive understatement. Also I didn’t see us living in this higher crime neighborhood for very long so I didn’t invest much time making friends nor knowing my neighbors. Further I was also doing most of my shopping either online or at the big box stores, so I didn’t have any relationships with the people that worked there. For me the pain of divorce was a huge wake up call to take a look at all my relationships and how I want to live.
When our first impulse is to invest our time and money outside the community we are…
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by Clay Schmitz | May 16, 2016 | articles, projects
Surf Village Sketch From 2012
One of my teachers offered this idea:
Imagine being born into this world and being seen by everyone in the community as a cargo bay containing precious goodies that no one else carries, and these goodies are needed by the community. Also no training, diploma, or certification is necessary, we are seen as being born with the diploma and all the credentials necessary to take up this unique purpose of giving these gifts to everyone. Further our community recognizes and acknowledges and celebrates us for our giftedness, before we achieve or accomplish anything. There is something about being seen in this way that elevates a human being in a way that is very exhilarating.
Once this idea got a hold of me I haven’t been able to let it go, and even more so when I learned that all our ancestors used to live this way…
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by Clay Schmitz | Apr 10, 2016 | DIY camera mounts, projects, surf videos, videos
Experiencing the fun and welcoming vibe of SUP Downwinding and seeing how undiscovered it is I wanted a way to get the word out and share the stoke. I have lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 40 years and had no idea there are surfable waves in the bay, and even after I discovered this I didn’t really believe it until I saw it. Growing up I had the belief that the bay was dirty or gross and only for boats, definitely not a warm sandy beach for swimming kinda place. My first summer living in Alameda introduced me to a different idea, one where there are thousands of empty waves every day right in front of a beautiful warm sandy beach. For me the thing that really blew mind is that there is no one out surfing these waves, and when I tell other surfers this they don’t believe it. The idea or dream of having endless uncrowded waves with warm welcoming people is real…
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by Clay Schmitz | Mar 10, 2016 | adventures, articles
My electric bike was stolen out of our garage a few weeks ago. The feedback I heard was how brazen the thief was to come into the garage during the day while someone was home. This could be an easy chance to lose trust in our neighbors and neighborhood and to feel unsafe and in danger of losing more.
This is exactly what I did many years ago in my previous marriage when we lived in a higher crime area. My reaction was to get the weapons ready and install an alarm and camera system, and together with other neighbors, the mayor, and police chief we formed a sort of lynch mob. Even though the suspected thieves were now watched by everyone we felt more fearful, anxious, and unsafe. Our perception and thoughts about our neighborhood became narrowly focused on danger and the threat of crime and or violence…
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by Clay Schmitz | Feb 24, 2016 | adventures, articles
I am laying down on a rug, because it’s to painful to stand or sit down, when my son crawls into the other room. Getting up has been sending sharp shooting pains through my lower back so I figure crawling after him might be easier and quicker. As I’m crawling I notice it doesn’t hurt as much when I move my legs. So we crawl around the room together and make our way back to the rug. It feels so good to be able to move my legs after several days of feeling constant agonizing pain. This is the most excruciating physical pain I have ever felt, my wife had sciatica pain last year and she said it is more painful than labor pains…
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by Clay Schmitz | Jan 24, 2016 | adventures, articles
I ran into a friend the other day and she asked me about teaching paddleboarding and specifically what happens when you fall in the water? I quickly responded with, “you get wet”. She shook this unsettling thought off and voiced her concern about the “dirty” water. I said there is more healing in being in the ocean and nature than not, and she agreed.
Later as I was on my way home a deeper answer came to me along with a feeling of calm and connectedness…
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by Clay Schmitz | Dec 29, 2015 | projects
A wall calendar designed to inspire us to love, respect, take care of, and enjoy the ocean and the surf. Our Kickstarter project is a success and we have received the funding we asked for, the calendar is available on Amazon.com.
This wall calendar is a first step to publishing guides designed to show people how to love, respect, take care of, and enjoy nature. As surfers our primary focus is on the ocean and the surf zone, and at the same time this wisdom is applicable to all of nature.
The photos were captured in each month so they accurately represent nature during that time of year. Each month’s photo is accompanied by inspiring words. Some days throughout the month offer encouraging words or challenges.
With your help we have completed this 2016 calendar project. After successfully completing this project we will start projects for weekly and daily book guides. Then expanding to video projects. Our goal is to build a live/work place to live in harmony with the ocean and nature and teach others to do the same…
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by Clay Schmitz | Nov 12, 2015 | surf videos, videos
This is page 2 of the post: POV camera pole mount for surfboards. Page one has the newest bamboo pole videos and can be found here. ... Read more
by Clay Schmitz | Oct 23, 2015 | adventures, articles
“If it was easy everyone would be doing it.” This idea that life is hard and needs to be overcome is how I lived the first 20 or 30 years of my life, no pain no gain was my motto. The idea of an easy and peaceful life was for wusses and viewed as undesirable or even impossible. I applied this way of thinking when I learned to surf, believing that I couldn’t afford lessons and I was afraid to ask for help, to do so would be a sign of weakness and make me a target for ridicule and rejection.
I remember like it was yesterday the excitement and beauty of the first time I caught a wave and went down the line riding the clear blue face and seeing the ocean floor race by underneath my board. It was a taste of a world I had only imagined, and this two week summer family vacation in Maui had whet my appetite…
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