Balancing Energies

So much happening in this last month that I have been wanting to write about but not found the time for yet, I figured I better make time now and catch up.  This winter surf season has been one for the history books, with the El Nino fueled storms and subsequent swell spanning across the Pacific Ocean relentlessly bombing huge surf onto the reefs of the Hawai'ian Islands and marching solid lines into the West Coast of America, this will be a season surfers will remember forever, and become a benchmark for future seasons to be compared against.  My big wave tow in day was an amazing step along this journey, but there have been many more swells to follow.  

The day after the tow day was when the real force of the swell hit, probably the biggest day of surf that Hawai'i has seen in about a decade, and it was going off!  I witnessed some of the most amazingly big, perfect, and gnarly barrels I have ever seen with my own eyes.  I gave my best effort to paddle into some epic waves and am thankful to have caught a few perfect ones myself, but the barrels I saw a few friends get with the jet ski assistance were absolutely mind blowing. One of the best days of waves ever, complete sensory overload, from sunrise to sunset being tantalized by spitting barrels relentlessly, I was completely tapped out that night.  Even more epic dream sessions to follow as this swell declined, letting the other waves become manageable and allowing a full variety of waves to be surfed through the course of this swell event.  

About a week after the tow in day, my friend that towed me in psyched me up to paddle out into some of the biggest waves I have ever paddled out in, probably the second biggest paddle day of my life, but way nicer than the biggest day because unlike the rough and rugged nature of the waves that day, this day was as big and perfect as you could ever dream of waves being.  Not a drop of water out of place, just perfect huge peaks jacking up and running the length of the reef, with a friendly and mellow vibe between the few guys out, it was truly a magical day.  I borrowed a big wave board from my friend, so I was a little tentative to catch my first wave, not only because it was my first time back paddling into solid waves in a few years, but also because I had not ridden this board yet and had no idea how it would go, so I took my time watching a couple sets come through before I paddled into the thick of it.  My friend was heckling me from the zone, looking at me like "what are you doing in the channel?  you know you need to be over here to catch a wave, right?" and waving at me to paddle over where he was waiting under the ledge.  As I have mentioned before, my friend loves huge waves, so I wasn't completely sure whether he wanted me to catch a wave from where he was, or if he just wanted to see how I would handle getting caught inside by a macking clean up set, but after seeing him late drop a couple nuts ones, I figured I better get in there for a closer look.  I managed to pick off a couple of inside ones, too small of a board to compete for the bombs up at the top of the reef, but right on the ledge where the wave would stand up as it connected the inside for a solid drop and fun wall to race, super stoked!  Traded a couple of sets with my friend, stoked to have gotten back out into some solid waves and feeling comfortable with so much water moving around.  When we got in, I thanked him for hyping me up to go out there.  I know it is not that hectic once I get myself out into the mix and put myself in the lineup, but taking that initial move to go out there is always easier when you have a friend to join you on the journey.  

The next morning the swell had dropped a bit but was still solid, and my friend paddled out in the dark on his shortboard to get a couple late drops at first light.  On maybe his third wave or so, he took off late, ran into some chop at the bottom, and skipped out in the trough, falling on his side and breaking at least three ribs.  Falling on water.  Broken bones.  Heavy.  The most agony I have ever seen him in, for a guy I have never seen affected by anything, this looked like the most excruciating pain anyone could ever endure.  Drove him down to the the hospital in town to get x-rays but nothing you can really do for broken ribs except chill out and let them heal, shocker.  In the blink of an eye, done. Season over.  The best season ever, over.  So harsh I went into a sympathetic depression with him, hanging out for the next week and helping take care of whatever I could for him so he could just sit and chill and heal.  I didn't want to be coming home glowing from a hero session and describing epic waves I had ridden while he had been barely moving so no shooting pains would pierce his chest, so I just hung out and talked story, made some food, and provided support as best I could.  The universe was sending out so much positive energy in a relentless stream that it had to regroup and begin to balance the energies out.  

It kinda felt like eating really spicy salsa, where if you keep eating non-stop you just replace one extreme experience with another in such succession that they all begin to blend together and have less individual impact, that is until you stop to take a breath and it all catches up quick, bringing you abruptly back to reality.  I had been in such a state of delirium surrounded by the perfection of this season that I got caught up thinking that maybe it could really just be like this forever, and life would be this grand adventure where the waves were phenomenal all of the time.  Everyday would dawn another gloriously stellar light wind sunny dream of swell lines marching in from the horizon, with the toughest decision of the day being deciding where to surf because everywhere is firing.  

But the highs have to get balanced by the lows.  Otherwise, how would we even be able to appreciate the blessings?  If everyday was perfect, sunny, and firing, how special would it be?  Can something still be special when it becomes the standard?  If everyday was perfect, it would no longer be considered perfect, it would be common.  We need the rugged stormy onshore flat days to appreciate how truly magical the perfect days are, when all of the elements do align, the right size swell coming from the right direction, with the right winds speed coming from the right direction, with the right tide and the sun shining, all culminating into one beautiful session, where we are in the right spot for the right wave, and draw the right line with the right timing, all elements synergizing to manifest a spiritual experience and deeper connection with the universal energy we are all one with.  Such an incredible alignment of the elements cannot slide by unappreciated just because they happen to be in temporary abundance.  

It felt like the energy had shifted, maybe not disappeared, but just vibrating at a different frequency now.  There have still been all time sessions and great waves to be ridden, but lately they have been smaller and more manageable, allowing for a different approach to be explored than just that of putting your head down and going hard in waves of consequence, and it felt nice to just relax and have fun in friendly waves again.  The weather shifted, and the trade winds began to return, replacing the ridiculously sunny and amazing days with some mountain showers, and some stormy days showed up bringing in colder north winds, starting to actually feel like winter over here finally.  It seemed like the season had hit its peak, and while there will still be waves to ride, and many more fun days ahead, the concentrated energy focused into the last couple months had finally begun to dissipate, reestablishing a sense of normalcy and familiarity to everyday life.  A mandatory balancing of the energies, so that we can find equilibrium once again.  

Taking time to soak it all in