"Legions of the unjazzed"

Phil Edwards was, during the late 1960's, considered the

best surfer in the world. He rode waves with a style and

grace that influenced generations to follow. He also authored

the rare and much coveted book "You Should Have Been Here

An Hour Ago". If you do a little research you might even find

the 1967 Sports Illustrated with Edwards on the cover.

Occasionally we all come across a sentence, a phrase, or even

a song lyric that seems to imprint in our brains and sticks

with us popping up at seemingly unlikely times. For me "The

legions of the unjazzed" is one of those sentences. Edwards

used it to describe " the day-to-day people, the hackers..." who

are taking over... The uncounted millions...who go through life

without any sort of real, vibrant kick". The people I encounter

in my office who draw a blank stare when I ask them what

they are passionate about, what really excites them. No surprise

that these legions often suffer from depression, have lost touch

with the joy of life.

I'm writing this at my house here in Rincon Puerto Rico. I've been

coming to Rincon for decades. It is a place that is, not only

beautiful and has good surf, but is populated by people that

seem to know what excites them, that know what they are passionate

about. Not too many depressed people here.

Find and embrace your passion. If you can't remember what excites

you, by all means, find it!

Out of touch with nature

As surfers we are the lucky ones. We seem most at home

in nature, in the ocean. We are dialed in to the rhythms of

the natural world - wind, tide, swell, sand. reefs, low pressure systems,

the ocean, and the life that calls the ocean home. It's easy to

forget that others are actually out of touch with nature. Out

of touch with all that is around them.

These past few weeks the Atlantic, here in NJ, has been asleep.

No waves, no real swell to speak of, but to those who take the

time to look there is plenty going on in our natural world.

We've had more seals showing up on the beaches than in

recent memory. Amazing how some people are freaked

out by the idea. Seals on the beach...how could that be they ask?

The nor'easters of the fall and early winter have done some

interesting things to our dunes and sandbars. Yesterday I

walked the beach in Seaside Heights, you know the home of

that bizarre MTV show "Jersey Shore". I Actually walked past

the place they lived but not on the boardwalk. I was on the beach

with another surfer checking out the carved out beach, the new

sandbar layout. We were watching as 8 inch waves peeled down

the newly formed sand points. We speculated about what will

happen when we get a swell, how those bars will perform.

Meanwhile behind us, up on the boardwalk people were taking

pictures of the closed t shirt shop and the painted door of the

MTV house. Not exactly nature, not exactly real but I guess

that's their world.

Research tells us that people who spend time in nature are

healthier and less stressed. No real surprise to surfers. Take

the time to connect with the natural world around you. Walk

on the beach, take a hike in the woods, visit a nature preserve.

You'll feel better for it. You will find yourself more connected

yet more at peace. The seals on the beach won't surprise you so

much and you'll be less interested in the fantasy of "reality tv".

Great days

I'm sure you all have had a really great day in the surf.

A day when everything seemed to come together, where

it's as good as it gets. Doesn't have to be a giant day or

even a perfect day, it's just for you a really great day. It

makes no difference if you have just begun surfing, if

you are Kelly Slater, or some seasoned "old guy", great

days happen to us all.

I had a great day yesterday. Simon my grandson called

me grandpa for the first time! At 22 month he's developed

quite a vocabulary in both Spanish and English. Seems

that every day for the past months he's been letting us know

he's mastered new words, new phrases. What a joy to hear

him say something he's never said before, to watch as he

realizes that others understand him, that he's actually

communicating. The "grandpa thing" was different I think.

I'll bet he's been able to say it for a while now but he's been

playing with me and holding out. He just wasn't ready.

Prior to yesterday when-ever someone asked him who I

was, what my name was he just smiled a coy smile, a knowing

smile. But for whatever reason yesterday was the day.

He decided to say it. My day was made, my joy incredible.

Such a little thing meant so much.

What little things mean a lot to you? Do you seek them

out, nurture them? Whether it's having a great session,

making a personal change, connecting with a friend, or simply

living with the aloha spirit, great days can come from

little things. Make it a great day in and out of the surf.