People who work or play with nature tend to have a very different outlook on life to those who don’t. This may seem like a huge generalisation, but I still think it holds true.
Whilst I was in Bali (seriously, I’ll stop going on about it soon), I spent the majority of my time with surfers. I’m not sure entirely how they managed to accommodate the amount of time they spent chasing waves around the world but they all seemed very happy doing it.
There were two things I noticed about the surfers I drank my evening beer with, although I doubt they realised these things stood out at all…
1. They were among the most present people I have ever met. There were no vacant expressions or side tracking. People were living in the present moment. They were engaged when we were talking and enjoyed the moment they found themselves in.
2. They understood that they were connected to each other, nature, the ocean, and something bigger than themselves. They were in tune with what was going on around them. They were conscious of their environment. They understood nature was a force to be reckoned with and listened to it (if you’d have seem what some of these waves were doing to the surfers and their boards in Bali you’d be very respectful of Mother Nature too…that is NOT a lady you want to piss off).
I found it really refreshing to be taken out of London and surrounded by people who were much more in tune with the bigger picture. They seemed to have got out of their own way, were less focused on themselves and status symbols and more focused on moving with the universe in a way which made them, and the people around them happy.
It might all sound a bit hippy dippy, but actually, all the people I met seemed genuinely happy. They weren’t stressing about their next career move, what house they wanted or who their girlfriend was chatting to at the bar. They watched the ocean, surfed, enjoyed a beer with friends and took strangers like me under their wing, genuinely interested in making another new human connection.
When was the last time you truly engaged yourself in a conversation with a stranger?
I’ll leave you with that one – if you live in London you’ll know that most people are close to calling the police if you so much as smile at them let alone say hello, but there are ways and means to expand your universe and be present whilst doing so. I encourage you to find your own way this week and, if you feel like sharing, I’d love to hear what you’ve done in the comments.