Pulling Inspiration from the Surf Community

I was sitting on my couch one Thursday evening with nothing pending on my to do list for once. I’ve wanted some free time to myself for weeks, and now that I had some, I ironically had no idea what to do with it! While staring blankly into thin air, my mind gravitated toward the idea of watching a film. Not just any film, I wanted this film to be inspiring, to be something well crafted and meaningful. I found a movie about surfing on Netflix called Isolated about “a group of surfers who travel to an isolated region of New Guinea in search of adventure, but then encounter human rights abuses and political strife”. This movie inspired me not just for the duration of the film, but has impacted the meaning I put to things forever.

Surfing has always been such an inspirational way of life for me. The culture, the people, and their seemingly unconventional lifestyles have always sparked my interest. Although I have never actually surfed, the surfer mentality is something I am magnetically drawn to time and time again. My cousins surf in Venezuela and I grew up around their fascination with the lifestyle. We would always be at the beach and stay weekends at the beach apt, something I miss dearly. I love the ocean and the feeling of being disconnected from society & technology while in the water. Tropical scenery, relaxed lifestyles, and the peace that the surf culture exudes makes me want to change my way of thinking every time I submerge myself into their world.

Surfers, to me, symbolize the freedom we all are capable of living. Surfers are entrepreneurs, they are bold and fearless risk takers, and seek the adrenaline of Mother Nature’s waves. The fire in their eyes inspires me to be a better person. When I watch surf videos, look at surf pictures, and watch movies – it makes me want to get up, go to the ocean and put down all the meaningless activities that are filling up my days as of lately. Emails, to do lists, social media, gossip, projects and any other mundane things that keep us busy and tied up are pointless on the grand scale of things.

It is the people that are confident to take a bold step out of the 9 to 5 routine that inspire me, especially those in the surf community who live their lives for something greater than a pay check. They live in the moment and surf the waves of change, and that, inspires me more than anything else.