I always like the steep paved road walk down to Blacks Beach which carves it’s way through the canyon, through green and brown shrubbery, cactus, and crumbly veined sandstone slopes. But on mornings like this, like standing in a cold wet cloud, the walk also serves to generate a little body heat, always helpful when combining an overcast  California “summer” morning surf session and my skinny body.

Blacks Beach, California, USA

At a few look out points on the way down you can see the waves right out front of where the road ends, but this is never a reliable indicator of how your surf session will be; the waves there are always much smaller than 300 yards up the beach where you surf. Thus I’ve learned to not let myself get discouraged on mornings like this, when I take those extra ten steps to the edge of the road for a quick glimpse, and see… glassy foot-high waves lapping the shore. It looks like a lake.

“Could still be good,” I tell myself.

But when I round the final sand-bound bend of the road, and see a sea of grey, literally, I prepare myself for a “paddle” rather than a “surf”. About sixty grey dots floating in grey water bordered by grey sand and grey cliffs under a grey sky. But no grey waves.

Well one of the best things about Blacks is that no matter how crappy the waves are, once you’ve gone to the trouble of walking down that hill you go for a surf no matter what. But if I’d just driven up to the 15th St. surf check spot and seen this scene you can bet that in 10 minutes I’d be warm and dry in Starbucks rather than going for a “paddle”.

So I walk down the beach, getting closer and closer to the crowd, and not really seeing much as far as waves. The occasional waist high close-out. I see a couple of thigh-high peelers further south than the crowd and paddle out there; at least I might get a couple tiny ones to myself.

I do get a couple right off the bat, short and small and fast. It’s bigger than I thought.

I surf and drift further north, toward where the waves are usually better.

Most of the surfers are sitting pretty far out, waiting for the biggest sets, which are coming in two or three at a time every ten or fifteen minutes. I don’t have the patience for that kind of waiting in the water. I get cold. So I sit further in.

And the waves actually get good. A wall will come in from the south and at some point that wall will have a shoulder that becomes a long wave peeling down the beach. That’s where you want to be. And a lot of those waves are standing up, looking like they are going to break, but they roll right under the hoard of splashing surfers trying to catch them, they hold off until they feel the shallower sand closer to shore. And they come right to me. Again and again.

After every wave I paddle back out with a smile but I get this little ping of anxiety; “Oh man I’m not going to catch any more waves, it’s so crowded and it’s really inconsistent, well that’s okay I’ve gotten my fair share, I’ll just sit there.”

And then another wave, sometimes a fun little peeler and sometimes a larger set wave that sneaks under the crowd, comes to me.

It gets to the point when I realize that another waves is just going to come to me. No matter what. I don’t have to worry about it. I don’t have to do anything except paddle back out. I understand the conditions and I am in the natural rhythm.

This feeling is one of the best feelings in life.

To be in the flow.

To know this:

“As I paddle back out, another wave is traveling through the ocean, heading right for me, for my riding pleasure.”

I finally go in because I’m tired. Not because I’m cold.

What a great session.

I love traveling.

When I was sick I remember that the thrill and freedom of traveling were motivators to get better.

Thirteen years later, I’m healthy, with a family of four, and traveling…

I love saying heartfelt thank-yous and good-byes to my wife’s parents just before we go through the security checkpoint at the airport. I love feeling my head press back against the seat as the plane takes off. I love the flight attendant nudging my foot telling me I’m not allowed to sleep on the floor. I love watching my kids dance to the live Fijian music at the Nadi airport, knowing that running around a bit will help them sleep deeper on the second flight. I love not knowing who is going to pick us up from the airport in LA… and seeing my daughter run up to my sister to give a huge hug. I love pulling into my parents’ drive way and seeing them reunite with my kids for the first time in nine months.

I love this feeling–that life is but a dream–that comes from waking up in Australia and going to bed in California.

Here are some shots from the past week.

Santi plays the didgeridoo pants-less while we finish packing. Kiama, Australia.

The afternoon before departure Jaya and I walked to Surf Beach, played on the playground for a while, then explored these rocks and pretended to look for evidence of early humans. Small waves today and a winter wind. Kiama, Australia.

Santi had his own cot hanging from the wall but all he used if for was playing. Air Pacific flight, Sydney to Nadi.

Their music made our two and a half hour layover in Nadi very enjoyable. Nadi airport, Fiji.

My kids after about 9 hours on this plane. Air Pacific flight from Fiji to LAX.

Concrete jungle. Los Angeles, California.

I surfed with my brother on the second morning here. Grey and chilly with a few really fun waves. Torrey Pines State Beach, San Diego, California.

An early fourth of July celebration. My favorite part: temporary tattoos. San Diego, California.

Pia and Santi smile down the inflatable slide. San Diego, California.

Santi's first fireworks show. He held his hand up as if to feel them and said "bang, bang." San Diego, California.

Are you remembering to complete your creations with celebrations? Are you remembering to begin your creations with celebrations?

Remember that what you want, ever, always, is a certain feel-good feeling. Begin with the feeling. End with the feeling.

Middle with the feeling.

To anyone who’s reading this: I love you!

Today we drove, flew, trained and bused from Gold Coast to Sydney. What a beautiful final morning it was on the Coast, everything flowing. And then to see Jaya reunited with her little brother… she missed him. I love my kids.

Here are some shots from today. Enjoy!!!!

Farewell to Jaya's school; we appreciate the beauty, care and creativity of the teachers and place.

Farewell Duranbah!!!!! Waves looked pretty fun this morning. Had to pick our last bits of mail from our old house.

Santi at the airport; running around and playing games.

The Gold Coast

I want that.

Moving

Pia and I have lived a lot of beautiful places. This is one of them; Stanwell Park, shot from the train.

Santi chewing on a pen he found in the train seat. And loving it.

I finished off the sun light with a surf at north Bombo, Kiama. This scene reminds me of Trestles in southern California.

Feel it first. So very important; what you want is a feeling.

We THINK we want the thing. But what we really want is the FEELING we think the thing is going to give us.

So how to feel the feeling NOW? First?

Here is a shot from today, and another nice shot.

Santi feels it first, loves Live, and spends a lot of time doing what he loves.

We lived here, Palm Beach, Gold Coast, a couple years ago. If the sunrise was especially nice I'd run home and grab my camera.

Sometimes fun IS the lesson. Actually, that’s ALL the time. Dang, it’s turned into a lesson. That’s fun!

I hung out with Santi all day today while Pia and her business partner (and our good friend) Lianne taught a TFT Boot Camp course. In the morning Lianne’s daughter Jaiah (yes, that’s pronounced like Jaya) was hanging out with us.

Jaiah and Santi love each other. Here are a couple shots.

Enjoy!!!!!

Creating your process of Creating…

I’m about to put fingers to keys to outline a simple and fun process of Creating that came to me recently. I’m very excited.

I’ll try it out for a little while and let you know how it goes.

Being Alive is very exciting. The Present Moment Flow. Playing around with our ability to Create new things in our Lives. If you are a young adult with cancer you’ll probably find that you are more motivated to explore the Creative process than before… since you’re probably wanting to stay Alive, and even more importantly to Enjoy your Present Moment.

Everybody has their own take on how we Create new things in our Lives. I used to get confused by this: who is the most right? But now I think that as Creators, we Create our own Creative process!!!!! This is AWESOME and makes perfect sense!

There are probably some underlying principles that don’t really vary, but why not customize the steps so they really bring you to Life and Feel Fun?

Here are some shots from today, full of Abundance and Synchronicity. Enjoy!!!!

Did some surf coaching this morning for a local high school. Blazing beautiful sunrise and super clean waves.

Drive into the hinterland and you'll find the Bearded Dragon. Breakfast time!

Walking over from the restaurant to the llama and reindeer corral. Santi rarely wears pants.

Moments before, this reindeer charged my little man.

I Love and Appreciate every little sign that I'm on the right track.

How can we find solutions about the things that we normally worry about?

Everyone has something different. Or rather, there are a few different main subjects in life and people excel and struggle in different areas. So how can we find solutions, a new experience in the areas that aren’t fun for us.

Well what do you want to experience? Really, do you think you’d be happy if everything was just great and easy all the time? I think some of Life’s best thrills come through the expansion, the challenges overcome, the problems that confront us, especially persistent problems, that we create new solutions to… there is so much joy in that.

Take those worries as the perfect challenges that they are. And focus on that solution!!!

Here are some shots from today. We left Jaya for a long weekend with her super cool newly married aunt and uncle, and Pia, Santi and I did a 5:30 a.m. planes trains and automobiles adventure to the Gold Coast. We were in the flow. A bit of running between trains and planes got us to check-in 5 minutes before it closed. Perfect!!! Pia’s teaching a course here this weekend.

Santi loves machines and wheels.

Pia loves travel as much as I do.

Every being exists to refine vibrations.

We are here to raise energy.

Appreciation is one way. Open your eyes and look around at the beautiful miracle of our world. It’s all there, waiting to be noticed, to further fulfill ITS intention. All things work together on this.

Also, our greatest effect can happen among people and places that are vibrating low: to enter a group of arguing people and allow the vibration to raise to a new harmonious place is very good and powerful for the whole Universe. So perhaps that’s why some of us have been born into struggling places; to make a bigger impact.

If you approach Life from this viewpoint, you welcome challenges; could be a rough family or financial hardship or a bodily condition like cancer. Breathe, refine, appreciate.

Here are some shots from today. Enjoy!!!!

The waves today at Bombo Beach, Kiama, Australia: pretty wild.

Kids are master vibration refiners!!!! Just a picture of Santi is probably refining your vibration right now. This shot was taken when we went to do a surf check in the afternoon.

Do you have an Inspiring Vision?

One of the best things about getting cancer as a young adult is that you UNDERSTAND that you — along with every other human — aren’t going to be around forever. And that means that you are motivated to enjoy your life, to do what inspires you, to be yourself, and to do great things TODAY.

Start general if you don’t know the specifics; just start writing about what inspires you and what’s truly important to you.

Here’s an excerpt of my Vision for my Life and SURF LIFE:

“I will focus unceasingly on my Vision; it FEELS GOOD.

This way of generating income is inspiring; it allows me to travel anytime anywhere. It enhances my health and freedom. It’s simple and dare I say easy. It’s exciting. It allows me to engage fully with Life. It encourages me to surf daily and do yoga. It allows me to meet super inspiring people. It’s alive. It’s bold and outrageous.”

Here’s the one picture I took today, and a photo from last week by my friend John Hicks.

My wife, son and I enjoying a summer's day in winter at Blueys Beach, Australia last week. Photo by John Hicks.

And today; a winter's day in winter. Jaya played in these tide pools for about an hour while Santi slept in the baby pack and I caught up with an old friend.

The motion of the ocean never stops.

The wind, swell, tide, ripples, waves, and currents are ALWAYS moving.

This is one of the joys of surfing; being immersed in a moving medium.

Make your breath like this. A little deeper out and a little deeper in, always flowing, always moving. Breathing Spirit into and out of you. Breathing space into your experience.

Flowing breath brings miraculous solutions.

(This is my number one suggestion for young adults with cancer.)

Here are some shots from today. Enjoy!!!!!

I went for a run in the rain. Rain brings rainbows.

Surf Beach in Kiama, 2 hours south of Sydney; pretty stormy and cold today. Still beautiful.