One stroke at a time

Roz Savage and Margo Pelligrino are inspiring women.

Both have taken on extraordinary challenges to help bring

attention to the state of the oceans. Both are, I hope, forcing

people to think about what each and every one of us are

doing to play our parts.

Roz Savage quit a career as a business consultant after

realizing that the obituary that would be written about

her wasn't true to who she felt she was. She has now

rowed across the Atlantic Ocean and is presently rowing

across the Pacific Ocean. That's right, rowing across

the Oceans alone. You might want to check out Roz's

talk on www.TED.com.

Margo Pellegrino is the mother of 2 young Children. She decided

that she had to teach her kids what is important by example.

She couldn't just talk about the "right things" to do. Margo

has paddled her outrigger canoe from Miami to Maine and from

Florida to New Orleans to bring attention to the state of the

Oceans. This year Margo is going to paddle from Seattle to

San Diego.

Both these heroic women are making a difference one stroke

at a time. Both setting amazing examples and calling us to

task. How can you change your life? How can you change

your habits or your way of thinking? As Roz said so eloquently

"one stroke at a time", that's how you row across an ocean.

That's how you make the changes in your life you'd like to make.

Surfing makes it better

To take a line from James Brown "I feel good"!

I've been able to surf for the past few mornings.

The waves weren't at all epic, in fact, they were actually

pretty small. To be perfectly honest, I needed my 9'6"

and/or my SUP to even catch waves. On set they were

barely thigh high, but I had a blast and the fun little morning

sessions with my good friends have served to set up my days.

No real surprise that my mood is better and the day goes

by faster when I start it off with a session in the water. I'm

not exactly sure what causes it, what makes the difference.

Perhaps it's those endorphins that make me feel good.

Maybe it's the opportunity to burn off some of those

stress chemicals that makes me feel so content, so happy

and at ease after a surf. Maybe it's being in the ocean and seeing

the beauty all around me. I'm not exactly sure. All I know

is that my life has been kind of stressful for the past few weeks

and I feel better when I surf.

What do you do each day that helps make you feel better,

helps you deal with stress? Surfing sure makes me feel better.

First hints of summer

It happened today! Every spring it is guaranteed

to happen at some point. Today was a warm, sunny,

summer like day. The kind of day when things just seem

right. Finally, we got a taste of things to come. A taste of summer.

There were people on the beaches in bathing suits sitting

in beach chairs and under beach umbrellas. Despite the

barely knee high surf there were more surfers in the water

than conditions warranted. Today was the day the grooms

went in the ocean wearing poorly fitting 3 mil wet suits without

boots or gloves. Sure they didn't really last too long but they

were surfing. They had fun.

The streets were filled with runners, bike riders and walkers.

First Night in Asbury Park was crowded and people were happy.

A taste of summer. A taste of things to come.

Amazing how a little preview of something good like summer,

can lift the spirits of so many. Knowing that things will get better helps

us all. It's good to know for sure, good to feel it, to actually

experience it.

Know, no matter how cloudy, dark, drab, or down life may seem,

things can get better. Summer does come. It sure is nice

to actually get an early taste to remind us, to keep our spirits

up. Now if we could just get some surf to go along with the

summer weather things might even seem perfect.

Decisions, decisions, and peace

Sometimes having too many options, too many

decisions to make can be a bad thing. How many

surfers have large quivers with a healthy variety

of surfboards, shapes, and sizes? I know I'm guilty for sure.

I've got almost every kind of board imaginable from a 5'8"

retro fish to a 10'10" SUP with just about everything in between.

I own longboards, shortboards, guns, eggs, single fins, twin fins,

tri fins, and a quad. Got all my bases covered I guess, but

sometimes all it does is confuse me. Sometimes I wish

I didn't have so many choices, so many decisions to make.

It sure was easier when all I had to do was grab my only board

go surf.

Life can seem a lot like picking out a board to ride. To

many choices can lead to too much stress. Narrowing

down the array of options can be a relief, can provide peace.

Recently I've had to make some decisions, I found myself

thinking about and exploring all the options

available. Like many, I asked others for their advice. I heard

lots of ideas, lots of opinions, lots of choices. It

became almost overwhelming. After a bit of time, some meditation

and thought I reached my own decision. I decided what I would

do, which board I'd ride as it were. No more second guessing.

Odd how peaceful it can become when you make a decision, pick

the board you'll ride.

Make your own decision. One that is right for

you. You can second guess forever, wonder if you've chosen the

right path, the right board, or you can mindfully

and thoughtfully pick one, have confidence in it and enjoy

your session. It's your choice.

Filters

In surfing and in life it's really how you look at

things that matters. What filters do you use that

influence what you see or what you hear. How do

your filters impact the quality of your life, your

relationships, and how you communicate with others?

I listened as a surfer I know talked about a recent

session. "It was amazing...so good and not at all crowded"

Another surfer who was surfing at the same spot and

at the same time told me "it wasn't really that great, the

wind was blowing hard and it held you up making it tough

to make the drop". Yet another told me "the ramps on the

inside lefts were great for launching airs. I had a blast!"

Three surfers all seeing things from their own unique

perspective, judging the same wave in very different ways.

I hear similar things in my office. Just tonight I worked

with a couple whose big issue revolved around one partner

hearing something through their own filter. What they heard

and ultimately reacted to was not at all what their partner

actually meant or said. They never even thought that

they could have been filtering the message through their

own perspective and not actually hearing what was said

or what was meant.

Do your filters get you in trouble? Confuse the messages?

Dictate your reactions? Try to understand and listen to what

is actually being said not what you think was said or what you

think it meant. Slow down before you react. The same surf,

the same time, 3 different perspectives. Probably happens in your

life alot.

Lost in Whitewater

Wow, it's been a while since my last update.

Sort of like someone wiping out on a big wave, a Tres

Palms, Mavericks, or Waimea Bay type big wave, and

disappearing in the white water before suddenly popping up.

I've popped back up!

Not quite sure what held me under for so long. I barely even

remember wiping out at all. Guess we all get lost at times.

It's easy to lose our focus, or get too involved in some things without

remembering how important other things are. Maybe that's

it, I lost some focus. I got busy in the office, found myself

focusing on the trivialities on each day, dealing

with what might seem the more important events in one's life, or

maybe it was the joy of surfing in the warm waters of Puerto Rico.

Be that as it may, I got lost or should I say sidetracked. We all do.

The important thing it to pop back up! As long as we pop back up

out of the whitewater after a wipeout we're fine. Even long hold

downs have lessons to teach.

Flat, cold, and snowy

As I look out my office window I can see the

snow falling... yet again. At least it's putting a fresh

coating on the dirty piles of snow that have yet to

melt from the last 2 major storms. Looking at the

surf forecast for the next week or so here in NJ doesn't

exactly fill me with excitement. It's going to be flat...again.

It's been flat, cold, and snowy for way too long this winter.

Not much joy amongst the local crew.

Seems to me that people are coping with all this in a few

observable ways. Some are putting their heads down and

trudging along, doing what they have to do. They are kind

of stoic, not really complaining. They are just putting one

foot in front of the other and moving along. Than there are

those who accept their fate making the best of what they can't

change. They're heading to the nearby mountains where the

snow and conditions are amazing. Than there are those who seem

to be able to do little but complain. It's almost as if they have

given up, given in to depression. I'm not at all a fan of flat, cold,

or snow but I'm lucky enough to be able to escape.

With winter, like all the other stressors in life, there are really

only 3 things we ever can do to cope - 1) remove the stressor;

2) remove ourselves; or, 3) learn to cope as best we can as to not

let the stressor get to us. Which way are you choosing to cope

with the flat, cold, and snow? Is it working for you?