Beauty in nature

Yesterday I decided to go for an afternoon surf even though the forecast said the waves would only be 1-2 ft (occasionally 3). I figured, going out and paddling on the ocean is better than staying inside. So I left around 3 p.m. With the lack of decent sized waves, the crowd was relatively small for a Sunday afternoon. This didn't bother me. I just figured I'd catch some small waves and enjoy myself. And I did just that.

Then, after a lull in the sets, I looked over to the surf break right next to me (Queens) and saw that not only were they catching waves, but the waves were significantly bigger. So I paddled over. For the most part, the surfers sitting farthest "outside" were locals. But that didn't really bother me. As long as you show repsect and give way when appropriate, the locals are cool. On one particular wave, I had a local stand-up paddler charging from behind yelling "wiki wiki wiki!!!" And without really thinking, I thought he was yelling at me to get out of the way because he was in a better position to catch the wave. It wasn't until I stalled and thought about what he was yelling that I realized what he was doing. "Wiki wiki" means fast or quickly in Hawaiian. So the local was actually encouraging me to paddle faster! After making that realization, I smiled to myself. It always feels great to be accepted and encouraged by the locals.
Anyway, back to the real reason for this post. Again, I was priveleged to see another beautiful sunset over the ocean while on my board. I didn't stay out until dark this time, but I stayed out until the sun went down. I always tell people that I never get tired of how beautiful Hawai'i is. After a year of living here, I still take pause when walking outside of my apartment to admire the luscious green mountains, and really embrace the warm balmy breeze washes over me. There are some particularly moving moments when I'm sitting on the water where I feel like time suspends in mid-air. Everything slows down: my heart slows, my breathing becomes deeper, and in that moment, nothing matters. Negative thoughts evade my mind and stress evaporates from my pores. With every inhale and exhale I feel more connected to my surroundings, more intune to the beauty in nature.

Sometimes I feel like the Ricky in American Beauty when he's talking about the plastic bag dancing with him. "...yesterday I realized there was this entire life behind things... and this incredibly benevolent force wanted me to know that there's no reason to be afraid... ever.... I need to remember... sometimes there's so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can't take it. And my heart is just going to cave in." That's exactly how I feel sometimes when I'm out on the water. No matter how many people are around me, I feel like I'm the only person there because I'm so absorbed in the beauty around me.

And sometimes it's so intense, and so overwhelming, that I can't tell if the salty droplets of water running down my cheeks are from the ocean, or from my tears...