This also serves as my entry for the #MONOMAD challenge,
I am pretty sure that virtually everyone here and around the world has at least one activity that brings them peace, happiness or escape from the mundane or "evil" mind destroying passages of the world we live in whether it be sport, art, writing, meditating,music, walking, sewing, baking, gardening etc etc..
There are probably some reasons that are to do with the way I grew up & many that I can't fathom but since my youngest memories I have always been passionate about animals, nature, being outdoors as opposed to in (cabin fever be real in my life lol.) and anything to do with the ocean (which is probably the biggest with the most time of all in my life spent surfing & diving for survival money in post school study years.)
When I was 13 I was gifted a "log" surfboard that probably had travelled on Noah's Ark, somehow survived both world wars and was made out of a material heavier than any material that we learnt about on the scientific chart at school.
From that first time that I paddled out I was sold and it very much became a part of life for me and am pretty sure it saved me from a lot of crap through my life. I was tiny in those days (aptly nicknamed Muis by friends "Afrikaans for mouse") and would trudge down to the beach with my board that my arms couldn't even reach around with a rope and old sock as my leash as opposed to the specifically made leashes in the shops. (To keep the board attach to one's self when you fall off in the sea.)
We grew up in single, divorced beautiful Mom household where there was definately no money for a wetsuit. I would trudge down to the beach with my log daily in my costume in sunshine or pouring cold rain. I would then often come home blue in winter, slop water through the house and jump in a warm bath. Once I had thawed out then I would run back to the beach for more. Back then my Mom would already tell me that I am nuts in my head and at 82 these days she still does lol.
Thankfully a couple of years later a local (pioneer in those days & still going) surf shop owner picked up on this and beyond gratefully sponsored me with equipment and new surfboards for a few years......no more wet house floors to the relief of my Mom hehe.
There is a saying "only a surfer knows the feeling" and it is beyond true......words can never explain all that one gets from it. From that first wave you ever catch .....it provides a bond & sense of being with the ocean & nature where one is shut off from the crap of the world and feels so at peace......to put it very shortly and simply.
My advice to anyone is to definately give it a try if you have the opportunity ever, no matter your age.....there are people into their 80's still surfing for the pure stoke & all it provides and there are surf schools everywhere these days (didn't exist here in my young days). A few lessons will take the initial hard slog out of picking up initial basics on one's own doing..........aaand it is incredibly healthy :)
"You can't wait till life isn't good anymore to be happy"......always keep the fire burning within :)
Thanks if you managed to read this far and it would be great to hear what your "escape to pleasure" in life is in the comments :).
All photos used were taken by myself.
