Today I took to the ocean.
Some days I suck
There is no flow & everything is more effort than I can find
Yesterday was that day.
I wanted to put the board back on shore
And say for the hundredth time,
I am not a surfer
But that is not true.
I’m just a learner.

Today I took to the ocean.
I lay on the sand with my lover
He listened as I told him of something sad that sits in my bones
Old tales of love and loss
Pains that still niggle at my heart
The ways I wish the world could be different
And then
I paddled out
With him as my guide
To wash it all off.

Today I took to the ocean.
And I caught my best wave yet
Full and fast and deep
Mid ride, as I guided the board left
And bounced along its face
A guy bobbing in the ocean put out his hand
And high-fived me

Today I took to the ocean and received my very first on-wave, mid-ride, high five
And it reminded me
How beautifully full the world is
How endless the opportunities can be
And how many times I want to be a learner
Even on the days when I don’t think I could learn a single new thing.
Because there will be days you form new scars as you get rolled and scraped along the sand
And then there are days where strangers will high five you just for having a go.
And that’s more than enough for me.

Tomorrow, I will take to the ocean.