I suppose it’s what you would call a midlife crisis. Your children have grown up and flown the nest, you follow the same old routines, day in, day out…and then suddenly it all comes crashing down around you.

For me, it happened like this…

I’d heard of people having ‘epiphanies’; a turning point in their lives when nothing would ever be the same again. That moment on the beach, I think I had mine. All my dreams from the past enveloped me. I’d always wanted to drop out of ‘life’ and live in a hut on the beach, swimming and surfing my cares away. ‘Well,’ I thought ‘better late than never!’

I spoke to my gym instructor who said I was as fit as any 30 year old, bless my healthy diet and exercise regime! Nothing could stop me…

 
So I signed up at one of those ‘Beginner Surfing for Adults/Teens’ places, decided to quit my job (but was talked out of it by a colleague who advised me to become an associate professor on a part time basis instead), and bought myself a wetsuit and surfboard!

It turned out I had a knack for surfing too. My friends thought I was crazy, as did students who saw me running around with a surfboard on the same beach where they ‘hung out.’ My kids e-mailed me the numbers of well-known psychiatrists to get me through this ‘difficult time.’

Little did they know that I had found myself; I was home.

I progressed faster and further than anyone in my surfing class. The kids who started off calling me ‘old dude’ ended up with looks of respect on their faces. Even my students began looking at me differently; I could see in their faces that they were thinking ‘Hey, he’s cool!’

My friends and family accepted my new lifestyle when they saw how happy, strong and confident I was.

Having finally taken a risk in my life by doing what I truly want, I have broken free. There’s a song I used to hear on the radio, something my daughter used to listen to, that rings in my ears:

“They love to tell you ‘stay inside the lines’

But something’s better, on the other side”

I’ve been surfing for 5 years now, nearly every single day!

There is no feeling like it in the world: my feet planted solidly on my board, powerful waves underneath me; I feel my own strength rippling through my body as I weave and dart to the rhythm of the sea, the sun on my back. There’s nothing in my mind except the wave I’m riding. The final crash into the Blue lets me know that I was only master of the waves for a short time – the power of the ocean is unmatchable.

At the end of each satisfying day in the sea, one thought crosses my mind, “I may be master of the waves only for a short time, but I’ll always be master of my destiny…”