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longboarder * XIV

Longboard by Jean Marie Drouet

The longboard legion is of surfing immanence. Polar opposite to the shortboard, the longboard is a “maritime minuet.” Flowing in unison with the lifestream, longboarding is a new dance. Adorned in comp stripes and on board our restoration “Cadillac,” we are “twinkle toes,” in trim and relaxed, less intense but still skillful, more thoughtful and with an enriched state of mind, enthralled with our return to soul. Back on the “danceboards,” joy returns with an amazing grace. As stylemaster, the longboarder is all about flow, and of original style. With style accentuated we create a new interpretation. New stoke brings out new life and a new look. As stylistic we are clean, pure and free. The longboard is an art form and has its own beauty. Longboarding is the lost art.

Deux Surfeurs by Jean Marie Drouet

The surfboard is symbolic of the cosmic egg. Hatch something new. Absolve yourself of the shortboard and your old tanker. Consolidation is not necessarily a concession. The fusion of hotdog and log is a hybrid speed egg. The augmentation to your quiver will add a new dimension to your repertoire. The modern longboard is original surf art on a classic wave canvas. Refine your lines with your new funboard. Do not deny yourself as a surfer. Experiment with fins, concave, spoons and length. Go into the shaping bay as womb, until a new egg is hatched. Reshape your relationship as the recycled surfer.

You reminisced that those years spent surfing California were the best of your life. Be a beachcomber again. Moving from shortboarder to longboarder keeps the essence and preserves the feeling. Even as a grom you rode an egg. Dawn patrol again. Sunset surf into the night. Take that added paddle speed and make use of that unridden wave. Stay in relation to flow through waves. Live in harmony with life.

With feet well planted and proper flotation, the “welcome back wagon” provides foundation underfoot where we can still push our limits. We recreate new lines and renew old acquaintances. In association with our local boardriders club we find ourselves engaged in the sport more for recreation. In agreement with our recreational redevelopment, we renew our relationship with the Ocean Divine. In harmony with nature again, we are not long for that spontaneous reencounter with that surreal and age old, “state of grace.” Our “second wave” is the reclamation of our dynamic whole, healing and reinvigorating, the harmonic convergence or magical blend of alchemist and aesthetic. The point of alchemical transformation in our beach life is on a longboard.

Reconciliation after catharsis leaves us with tempered thoughts and opinions. In moderation our thoughts and our surfing are more linear, even fragmented or incomplete. Despite having “more glide for our slide,” we trifle with what may be frivolous or obsolete. As retro man we are not as tuned in, and can be rigid and inflexible. Our “Queen Mary” is too big and oversized and leaves us unable to exploit performance features. Our log has us bogged down and waterlogged. We do not see new outlines or swell direction. We are unaware of the change in intervals, winds and tide. Our surf disintegration has us disgusted with our quiver and lost in decay. When the build up in our head matches the knobs under our knees, we are knobheads. We can then be an imposition, which may rupture our relationship with the shortboarder. Out of control, we are eggheads not willing to tone it down. As a consequence of not living in harmony with life, and not yet nigh to that “perfect balance,” we are still learning how to go (surf) about a “creatively satisfying relationship to the environment.”

Access your inner compass. Redirect within, then without. Do not ignore the surfer within. Tune in and tone down. Intensity gives way to recreation. Accept your ability level. Recognize your limitations and accede. Recreate. Satisfy your personal sense of creativity. With each ride upon the wave canvas, make your life an art form. Learn to flow gracefully with the wave. Learn to flow with Life. Our fulfillment and happiness depends upon how we live within the Flow and process of Life. Return to equilibrium. Creation is the seat of the Soul, and where change takes place. Put some funboard back into your Life. Get back into it. Fun hogs can do the pig dog. Can you? Can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Deviate. Be a “wing nut.” Recapture your first youth. Free your surfing bird. Restart your journey. Re-experience ethno-exotica. Travel. Be a dream weaver. Draw from life. Harmonize with the elements. Resist the pursuit of extremes. Know when to go and when to pull back. Move back from living life on the edge. Downshift. Select the path that feels right. Bring surfing into your life. Surf life.

Understand that you are not (just) your body or your mind, but the sustaining energy, the divine spark of Life within your body or mind, not unlike the energy moving through sea water, which is the wave. Keep surfing. Sustained resonance puts us more in sync and enables us to know ourselves better. Self knowledge enables us to find balance. As old guardian, do not be caught thinking in black and white. It is unmindful and difficult for your mind to be in two places at once. As soon-to-be surf elder, do not be stuck in a grey, lifeless fog. Age gracefully. Happiness is a choice. Accommodate. Be more accessible. In company with others, you can shimmer in a softer light. Live the rainbow of life. From daybreak to day’s end, be fluid and flexible. Times change. Fit in. The application of temperance is truth in action. Be the catalyst. Unification is resolution. Share the reins. A new open mind will draw new lines. Find a clean point break or an easy sandbar. An aesthetic nonchalance will change your surfing. Refining your surfing means refining your very self. Everything you do will then be re(de)fined. You will be a refined (refound) person. Smooth out your surfing… smooth out your life.

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