Limited Resources and the Human Predicament
At some point during the last few years of empty or mannered line-ups and my endless surf blessings, I’d lost the drive to fight this type of crowd. It ruins surfing for me. Here we were in this drop-dead gorgeous place where dreams linger on after you open your eyes”¦ where the giving spirit of the Polynesians will humble the wealthiest”¦ here in this blessed paradise, these guys had to drag their ugly greed and selfishness. I was disgusted; downright ashamed and at every one of their despicable beings. Had it been any other circumstance, I would never have subjected myself to such ridiculousness (not true”¦ I paddled out at Rincon more than once when I was in Cali), but anyway, at this point it wasn’t really an option. We had limited time. Not enough to make another passage. I wasn’t asking for ALL the waves-just one or two, here and there!? Poor Bali tread water on the inside with a look of helplessness, equally horrified at the circus he was beholding.
This went on session after session for three days. We tried every strategy to avoid them. Before sun up, in the heat of midday, and whenever the pack seemed thinnest. Little by little we began to accumulate a few good shots, but the negative energy of the situation was crippling. Part of the problem was that most of them weren’t good surfers. There was no sense of peace in any of them. It was as if they were scrambling to catch every wave like THIS one might miraculously eject them into surfing ‘coolness’. They certainly didn’t look they were having fun!? I would paddle out excited because the waves were GOOD, say hello to every one of them despite it all, but slowly they would suck the joy from me and when I finally caught a wave I was as pissed off and demented as they were”¦ It was a perfect example of limited resources and the predicament of human greed that’s destroying the earth! When did ‘Aloha’ go out of style?
In the lowest moments of frustration, I’d take a deep breath”¦ and gaze back at the mountain ridge. Throughout the day, the various pikes and steeples receded into shadows or glowed anew as the sun rays deepened into the dynamic masterpiece’s knobs and recesses. I don’t think even one of them noticed.
