Simon and the Ocean

It's still difficult for me to put into words the emotions

surrounding what happened yesterday.  I've tried 2 drafts

of this entry already.

Simon is my 4 month old grandson.  Yesterday morning for

the 1st time in his young life he stood ( with my help) at the

shoreline and felt the ocean as it lapped up on his tiny feet. 

My son Noah, Simon's father, stood at our side sharing similar

overwhelming feelings. 

In many cultures  the ocean is special.   It's not merely a body

of water but rather a spiritual, holy place, a church of sorts. 

The place from which all life springs.  I know that for Noah and I,

like many other surfers and waterman all around the world, we

feel a great reverence towards the ocean and all it represents and

is.  Yesterday we brought Simon into our world, a world we both

hope will become his too someday. It was a baptism of sorts.

Matt Walker recently wrote a wonderful piece on "Surfing as Religion".

It appeared in, of all places, Surfing Magazine.  Matt reminded us

that "Tom Blake carved "Nature = God" into a rock decades ago". Many of

us certainly understand what Blake was thinking.  Walker goes on to

discuss Dr. Bron Taylor  who authored an article entitled "Surfing into

Spirituality" in the Journal of the American, that also validated the feelings

that many of us share.

Hopefully, yesterday, my grandson took his first step towards becoming a

member of what Taylor called the "Aquatic Nature Religion".  I know that

both Noah and I hope so. Research tells us that individuals with strong

spiritual beliefs are better able to cope with the demands of life.  What do you

believe in?