Mother Ocean in California is widely known by surfers as the “Blue Lady”. The Blue Lady is a force to be reckoned with. My first time in California, I had no knowledge of duck diving. When the first six-foot wave stood up in front of me, I froze in fear and could not figure out for the life of me how I would survive. After getting “rinse-cycled” and after eating many “sea-salt potatoe chips”, I stumbled out of the Blue Lady and got a crash-course from my good friend who had been smirking discreetly from the shore.

“Kook!” he yelled at me, which is a Californian word for many states of being, but in this case it meant “beginner”.

Many people are afraid of the ocean’s great power. And we should be! She can toss you around like you are but a speck of sand to her. Every time I duck dive under a wave, and close my eyes, I feel like a little part of me is dying, that part that is used to the known, to the visible, to the physical. As you go under a wave, it’s all about trust. Trust that you will pop back up again on the other side, safe and sound, the seagulls screeching above you.

I have great admiration for surfers. To surf is to not fear the unknown, to really trust that the Blue Lady will protect your life no matter what happens. Talk to any surfer and you will know what I mean. They are the most laid-back, easy-going, relaxed people on earth! They are natural gurus, really, because they enter one of the most powerful forces on earth every day with great humility and reverence, and then go back to work as if they just had done the most natural thing on earth.

The Blue Lady opens her innermost secrets to those willing to close their eyes, take a deep breath, and surrender to the great unknown.