Solace in Nature

I had a very unexpected death in the family about 6 weeks ago that threw my world up side down. I am not going to say much about the person here except for that I love him, I miss him and my heart is hurting. During the mayhem after the passing, I had a huge urge to run. I didn’t want to run away from the grieving, the late night emotional breakdowns or the funeral planning. I wanted to run so I could clear my mind. I wanted to run to see if I could imitate that feeling of freedom you get from surfing. I wasn’t going to leave my family to pursue such a self indulgent act like chasing waves, but running felt like it could be more accepted socially. I shut surfing out of my life for nearly 2 months and really suppressed the urge to check the charts when I felt the light offshore blowing. Running became my quick fix. 30 minute sessions that could be blasted out when time allowed. During the run I had space for my mind to wander. Often I would let issues rise so I could work through them whilst on the run, other times I would just day dream. On one of my last runs I started to think about being in the water. As soon as I started thinking about the water, I started to think about the surrounds of my favourite spot. The native plants that cover the dunes, the heavy granular sand, the fishermen that cast into the channel, the protected area for the Hooded Plover, the crushing shorey, the effortless paddle through the rip, everything! Seeking solace in nature helped me through one of the toughest tests of my life, even though I was miles from the ocean, running on concrete surrounded by traffic and humans. The constant draw to the water kept me going, kept me running and most importantly kept me sane when all I wanted to do was burn out. Technically Goes To Sea was put on hold whilst I dealt with things but I never stopped thinking about it and I am so glad to be back. There are boards coming, there are back orders being filled and there are some new things on the horizon. This time though at a pace that works with me/us seeking solace in nature to stay sane. “You never slow down, you never grow old”. Love you man.