Mistakes

We've all made them... mistakes I mean. Come on
admit it, there have been sessions when you really
screwed up.  Some screw ups are relatively minor
like picking the wrong wave in a set, grabbing the
wrong board from your quiver, waiting for the wind
to shift or tide to change. We've all dropped in on
someone without having looked or thought about
what we were doing.

Some mistakes have more serious consequences.
Ask anyone who has surfed over a shallow reef,
fallen ackwardly and suffered cuts and scrapes
that might have ruined a session or trip for that
matter.  Have you ever found youself washed into
a rock jetty or groin? I'm sure you've broken a
board! Remember seeing the jet ski barely miss
landing on a surfer's head in Tahiti?

There are some mistakes that have larger and
seemingly more catastrophic consequences.  We
all have heard about someone drowning or becoming
paralyzed. We've seen photos of surfer's being carried
off the beach. We might even know someone who
has become too enamored with drugs or alcohol and
destroyed their lives and the lives of loved ones.

In life we all make mistakes. Sometimes, like
in surfing, the mistakes are minor, the result of not
thinking, other times they might be caused by
making bad decisions.  All we can hope for is
to learn from the minor ones, think long and
hard before acting without listening, and pray that
no real catastrophe happens.