I think the excess christmas heat has finally got to his brain...

So indeed it is 2 days after Christmas, and I have spent the last 4 days wishing that I had had the foresight to pack at least one pair of shorts.. But who does that. I mean when you check the weather and it’s a consistent average temperature of 40m you figure it’s gonna stay that way…. Enter the panhandle of Florida’s mood-swing climate… And helloooo schizo-weather… Nonetheless, it has given me a good chance to get to the beach. (One of those perks of living in Florida.)

I believe that everyone has a place where everything slips away, a place where they can forget and just have an ounce of freedom. For some it may be on a sports field, others a stage or some a quiet room… But for me it’s the beach, more specifically in the water. It’s my escape if you will. Nothing else matters while I’m out there. Not the stresses of life. Not the frustrations of the opposite sex (no offense ladies). Not a care in the world, it’s just me and my board, and the waves… and if I’m lucky sometimes God stops by for a chat or two.

It was on such an occasion that I came up with these thoughts. While sitting out in the water on a recent surf trip, I started thinking. I had to get past the initial thoughts of OHH MY GODDD I’M FREEZING!!!! And then I was clear to get to the really good stuff.
While I was waiting on the next set of good waves to roll in, I started thinking about surfing and I decided that surfing is a lot like 2 things in this life… Sex and God. Since it’s probably not the best idea to go into both of those in the same blog, I’ll let you think of all the possible sexual references and implications surfing may make and I’ll stick to the God analogy….

So before I send myself to hell… I’m just gonna jump into this thing. The thing about surfing is, it’s not just a matter of are you in shape and can you stand up on the board, a multitude of factors come into play. What is the ocean doing, are you in the right spot, are you riding the right board, etc. So in short, it’s not just knowing what to do, it’s about knowing how to handle all the changes that the ocean can bring your way, and still ride the wave out successfully. And with that, if the wave decides to close out and throw you for a loop, you have to have the determination to get out there and try it again….

I hope that you can kinda see where this is going…

In life I feel like we strive so hard to be in that just right spot for everything to work out so perfectly, yet if any of you are like me, you always find yourself inches away in the perfectly just barely wrong spot. And it is so frustrating because you see everyone who found that perfect spot in their life and are riding it to the fullest while you’re getting trounced because you were just off. So you strive and work so hard to get in the spot where you saw people finding fulfillment, yet again it proves to be that just barely wrong spot and again you get trounced. And this cycle repeats a few times. You may even think you hit it just perfect only to have the bottom fall out from under you and again you are back at square one. And each time this cycle repeats it gets harder and harder to convince yourself to get up and try again. But if you wanna succeed you have to.

In the end you usually find yourself looking up to the sky and begging God for a little help. And believe it or not relief usually comes. Sometimes not right when you want it, but I think God knows when we need that boost of confidence to get us through a hardship in our lives and help us keep fighting the good fight.

I hope that maybe some of this made sense, they say to write about what you know… so that’s what I’m doing. Keep fighting the good fight, and never stop striving to live the life that you know will bring you true fulfillment. I leave you with lyrics from Jack’s Mannequin that always kind of pick me up and I think they relate well to this…..


You gotta swim
Swim for your life
Swim for the music
That saves you
When you're not so sure you'll survive
You gotta swim
And swim when it hurts
The whole world is watching
You haven't come this far
To fall off the earth

The currents will pull you
Away from your love
Just keep your head above

I found a tidal wave
Begging to tear down the dawn
Memories like bullets
They fired at me from a gun
Cracking me open yeah
I swim for brighter days
Despite the absence of sun
Choking on salt water
I'm not giving in
Swim

You gotta swim
For nights that won’t end
Swim for your families
Your lovers your sisters
And brothers and friends
Yeah, you gotta swim
For wars without cause
Swim for the lost politicians
Who don't see their greed is a flaw

The currents will pull us
Away from our love
Just keep your head above

I found a tidal wave
Begging to tear down the dawn
Memories like bullets
They fired at me from a gun
Cracking me open yeah
I swim for brighter days
Despite the absence of sun
Choking on salt water
I'm not giving in
But I'm not giving in
Swim

You gotta swim
Swim in the dark
There's an ocean to drift in
Feel the tide shifting away from the spark
Yeah you gotta swim
Don't let yourself sink
Just follow the horizon
I promise you it's not as far as you think
The currents will drag us away from our love

Just keep your head above
Just keep your head above
Swim
Just keep your head above
Swim
Swim
Just keep your head above
Swim