THE SECRET OF BALANCE ;-)

In each wave, as in each moment and in each potential movement, I believe there exists an element of truth that can be expressed in myriad ways. These ways of being and acting are natural and spontaneous in people who have plunged into the present, who are attentive to the details of reality, who are masters of their own ideas and free in the actions they take. There lies genuine wisdom.

It is this same power of truth that allows some people to surf in a calm and balanced fashion, true to themselves, independent of environmental conditions. Others seem never to be able to reach this point. They even persuade themselves that balance is not part of their nature.

Of course things do fall apart -- our job comes to an end, or somebody cheats us. But what is all of that right now, when a human being is animated by, and imbued with, a phenomenal capacity to imagine, to act, to receive, and to give? Regardless of the path one chooses in the search for balance, the search itself teaches us to live in the glory of each moment. Those who experience it become more authentically themselves.

To place high value on riding a wave is to find balance in one's life and surroundings, to accept change, to recognize the reality of an ephemeral world, to be conscious of the only thing that will always exist: change.

The challenge of adapting to change is usually more psychological than biological. In order to remain a little bit constant in a universe where everything is in flux, one has to have the kind of reliable confidence that stands up to the transitory nature of life, the confidence of someone who knows he or she is alive.

The sensation of balance that a surfer feels, that a painter experiences as he or she works on a picture, or that a dancer feels giving all for the simple pleasure of being alive for a moment -- that is what makes confidence possible. When the fear of falling disappears, it becomes easier to imagine oneself riding free. At that moment, life appears as a vast and inviting wave.

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THE QUEST OF HOPUPU :

known in Hawaiian as hopupu: the sublime state experienced by a person who has just become one with a wave. Ecstasy. The sensory reward for having surfed well.

I am speaking here of the same sensation that children seek when they roll down a steep hill or run until they are exhausted, shouting with joy. Too often we forget that we are living beings, vibrating in rhythm with a nature that has survived and will endure far beyond any point we can imagine. Too often, we accept having our lives set to the rhythm of office schedules. We orient ourselves to material and pecuniary concerns.

Surfing raises the possibility of an engagement with life on a planet animated by a mysterious spirit that is strangely disposed toward nourishing us, surprising us with its complexity, dazzling us with its beauties. In the simplest possible terms, it's all about the present moment, the one we are in now and will be in perpetually.

Dig your heels in on the curve and chase time, point your nose, spread your wings. Don't be anybody anymore, but feel, all at once, the whole that is already there, forgotten. Be a fountain of joy.

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Jean-Etienne Poirier is an avid surfer, skier, skateboarder, and journalist.
When not surfing, he lives in Quebec.