riding elements

Last week M took me the Long Beach Surf Contest, the first big contest to be held on the East Coast. Not knowing anything about surfing except for his love for it, I didn't anticipate too much. But it turned out to give on all levels--sensation, emotion, thought. If watching surfing for an entire day can do that for a girl who can't swim in the ocean, there's a reason for openness to the unfamiliar.

The first day rainy, the second day sunny, both at times uncomfortably so but mostly just enough to be steadily present. On the hot day I was without hat or sunglasses, and I felt like toast. Even though I'm almost black now, I'm glad for warmth so intense I could feel it under my skin. Watching the water for hours made it seem like a natural movie, and it's interesting to think of a natural place as a venue for something like that, a scene or an event or a narrative. There's the scene of the sky and sand changing character over the course of a day, the interaction between each surfer and water. It was amazing to see shifts in the environment, in temperature, cloud forms, tide coming in; to feel it happening to you and without any regard to you. It was amazing to see how well these people knew the water--how they adjusted for its curves and shapes and speed. And how as a result, there was crazy connection between person and water. I admire the desire and capacity to know something as dynamic, turbulent and feisty as water, especially having recently discovered how different a fluid world is versus a solid one. It changes pretty much everything, and in a way I see an exploration of it as an exploration of elements outside of yourself, that can become so deep that it's more yourself than the ground you were on before.

There is always more to say, and better ways of saying them, than I have ability and energy to write. But I wanted to put it down. Because though I don't have the expertise and experience to know and master the elements of air, water, and so on, I would like to be carried by them. And so, M & I are leaving for a long leisurely drive across country for new adventures in California.