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".