The essence of life

You don't have to go away to 'find' anything, it's already here within you, but the break from routine and giving yourself time does help. We fill our lives with so much 'doing' that we never have time to 'be'. Various pursuits throughout my life have allowed me a glimpse of joy of presence – those moments when you are completely at peace within the moment, without thought, without mind-clutter, not dwelling on the past or worrying about a future that hasn't happened.

These moments spent wave-riding are just such a pursuit, but i've had moments dj'ing when for hours on end the records seem to choose themselves and everything 'comes together', privately listening to music can connect to the timeless as can sex, (some) drugs, yoga, dancing, the awe inspiring enjoyment of beauty.... These glimpses show us how we can be all the time, and that's worth pursuing, it's what humanity has called at different times and in different places God, Allah, Krishna, spirit, soul, holiness, enlightenment, the divine... More please!

A surf trip to tourist backwater like the East coast of Sri Lanka is a good place to contemplate such matters.The surf is good (not windblown) from sunrise til about 10am and then from about 5pm til dark at about 6.45pm leaving a lot of hours with nowt much to do. I've clocked up some serious hammock time and have been reading (amongst other things) the eminently sensible Eckhart Tolle who talks about this kind of stuff with such clarity and ease without any airy fairy California-isms that it's hard to ignore. So this in combination with several glimpses of 'Life' a day through wave riding is a recipe for getting deep!

"Don't think, Feel!" as the Karate Kid once said.

In summary:
1 dislocated thumb
1 sliced hand (by an oyster)
4 reef scrapes
67 Mosquito bites
10 Sand fly bites
4 jelly fish stings (3 mild, 1 electro-shock therapy)
6345 new freckles
1 sun-bleached mop of hair
2 hangovers
3 monkey raids
1 snapped fin
5 dings (1 severe)
280 waves ridden
87 games of shithead
4 books read
18 yoga sessions
15 new friends
12 blog posts
53 amazing meals
14 snoozes