Moments

I'm getting old.
That's not a depressing statement.
Old is good.
As long as it presents wisdom, thoughtfulness, acceptance.
As long as the recognition gets you out of your slumber.
Gets you moving.
In the right direction.
I'm getting old.
There may be more days behind me than in front.
That's fine. It just means I have to start clocking off more moments.
Moments of inspiration.
Family.
Love.
Moments to fill the memories.
A picture frame in the mind.
A peaceful mind.

Beaches

Sand beneath your feet, fresh air in your lungs. The waves lapping up on the shore, or breaking hundreds of metres out in cosmic cylinders. Tide ramps form the perfect jump off. Shells to find. Kick a footy. Bravely walk towards the water, then retreat as the waves break just in front of you. Too cold to swim just yet. Give it a few more weeks. Love that smell of sunscreen. Sand between your toes. Rocks to climb on the point. Rock pools to investigate. Warm sun on your back, eyes squinting in the bright light.
Fun, discovery, joy.

Free.

Do Differently

Simply put, you can have more predominately fast twitch muscle fibres or slower twitch muscle fibres. So sprinters have an above average level of fast twitch- that is, their muscle can contract with incredible speed.
So what?
For fast twitch fibres to stay 'fast', you can't train them too much. Short periods of intense training followed by long periods of rest.
So what?
Sprinters are well known for genetically having very fast twitch fibres. So someone like Yasann Bolt is genetically predisposed for this physiology. He is also well known for being a very lazy (relatively) athlete. That is, he likes his rest! Given the training program required to keep fast twitch fibres fast, his laziness probably assists his training.
Conversely, professional soccer players, many of whom have a genetic predisposition to these fast twitch fibres, have to partake in team training, where endurance is of importance, long training sessions, small recovery periods. Perhaps it is this training that leads to the research into soccer players in the Brazilian league which found that very few of the athletes exhibited fast twitch fibres.
So what?
Fast twitch fibres mean speed and agility. Lost to the soccer training regime.
So what?
Conventional wisdom may tell you something. A way of doing. That's how we always do it. It usually has a lot to say. Mostly wise things.

Sometimes not. It's worth looking at things again. seeing whether the outcomes are what you want.
And if not.
Think differently.
Do differently.

500

This is my 500th post on this blog. A bit of a milestone and a time to remind myself the purpose of this whole thing. I think it has something to do with documenting my thoughts, inspirations. Being an avenue to publish (of course) my activities and musings.

I sometimes neglect this. Write little, publish little. I think it is important that I work on this blog. It keeps me on track.

On track to remember the important things.
to never wait for some undetermined thing that is suppose to come along before I take a chance.
to love those around me.
to love what's around me.
to keep thinking.

to stay inspired.

to hopefully inspire.

to create.

to do.

Colour

It felt like a summer day in the garden.
Harvesting root and leaf crops, taking in the wonderful colours.

I keep thinking of the possibilities of this thing.
Worm farms, planting guilds with perennial and fruit crops.
A science lab for discovery.
A workable indigenous garden just down the path.
But more than that;
How it can change attitudes.
How it can create ideas.
How it is such a fantastic place to sit and be still.

How we need to grow more peas!

Says it all really.

Create again

The more you create...

Write a blog
Build a cubby
Bake
Draw
Plant a seed
Knit
Paint
Comment
Develop ideas
Take photos
Make a video
Sing

.... the more you smile.

Create

The more your create, the more you deserve to consume.

Taste

I've been thinking about the idea of backing yourself for some time. I have to really fight against the need to second guess myself, to over think things through, to think negative. It can be a hard thing to say 'I like this and I think it is the right thing to do' and then go for it.

It's hard because you could be wrong. It's hard because, even if you are right there will be people who think you are wrong. It's hard because it may be right but when you carry it out, well, the results can be pretty pathetic.

I read a great quote from Ira Glass, who talks about good taste. You see, if you get into creating things, you do so because you have good taste. You know a good photo, a brilliant piece of art, an eloquent narrative, a delightful garden, a great design. And then you do it yourself.

And your work falls short of your expectations.

It does this because of your good taste.

Ira explains that this is when people give up. And I guess all those 'second guesses' come in to play here. But what you need to do is keep going, better your craft, learn, and most importantly, do.

And if you do, you begin to close the gap between your product and your taste.

You'll get there.

You just have to fight through.

Go on.

Back yourself.

Good Morning

Will it be or won't it be?
The question always enters your mind as you make your way to the beach for a surf. Will there be waves to enjoy or will I leave, slightly disappointed about putting in the effort and returning home unrewarded.
I remember having to add the thought of how crowded it may be. Not anymore. Not at my 'local'. The most crowded it has been this last year has been when I was surrounded by 25 odd dolphins. 'Ahh, that must have been wonderful', you think. Well, yes it was. But I know enough about dolphins to know they are not all cuteness and light. No, they have a mean streak and I must say, that as a number hang to my left, another few to my right and then some started playing around in front of me I thought I was about to be roughed up by the local dolphin gang.

Of the human variety, my local has peaked at 5 guys in the water, at two different banks. So, no, crowds don't really enter my mind these days. It's more about conditions. This time last year we were blessed with day after day of over head high conditions, with the banks producing some unbelievable waves. This year has been a little bit inconsistent. Still some lovely waves, but spread out between days of flat conditions.

As I parked my bike at the viewing platform I noticed Claude heading out of the water and behind him and beautiful right firing off down the line. It certainly will!

Claude had just had a great surf and was of the opinion it was getting better, but he had some work to do, so left me to it. 'Oh, and the water is like a bath!' This year the water temperature has stayed warmer for longer and as I duck dived my first wave I knew Claude was talking temperature and not wave action.

So there I was, alone with my thoughts and over head high sets racing through. I remember sessions back in Perth where I would be out for an hour and, with the crowds, perhaps get three waves. Here it's ride, flick out, paddle out, paddle for a wave, ride, flick out, paddle out and so on. You actually have to let a few through while you catch your breath. And you can just think, 'Ok, they look like they are starting to barrel, I'm just going to see if I can take off late and get right into the barrel'. And then you practise that for one wave and then another, and another. No worry about being dropped in on, or other guys getting the waves. Man it improves your surfing.

And then it was time to go in. Last wave, a nice one. Ridden to the beach. Back up to the bike and ride home. All with a huge smile on my face.

Good surf.

Good morning.

Where you been?

I've been fishing with the kids,
working in the school garden,
changing my mind over whether I want to build a house or buy one that's up,
raking the local single track,
watching my wife kill it in a local mountain bike race,
I've been sick... man flu,
I've been marking uni assignments,
I've been hanging with the kids,
drinking coffee,
reading mags,
planning,
dreaming,
sleeping...

The usual.

The Office

I'm in a really fortunate position at the moment, living in a great place, having a wonderful family and doing some really fun, challenging and exciting work. The school garden is about learning new things, enjoying being outside, overcoming challenges and doing lots of things for the first time. Uni work is similar, it's great fun working with adults and refining how I teach them.

And then there's the truly outdoor office. This week I was down at Tathra taking a group of Outdoor Ed Year 9 students for a stand up paddle up around the wharf. Then it was on to some surfing instruction. Great groups, great beach, great weather. Great job!

Not a bad set of offices.

A Simple Day

Good breakfast, off to work.
A busy day, outside in the garden, feeling pretty satisfied with the work being done. Home for a quick dinner then out to Mandeni with the kids for a mountain bike ride. Josie and I out front, Jackson flying behind.

A setting sun, full moon appearing.

With the kids.

Simple

Failure

Embracing the unknown
Setting goals
Realising that to get there you will be failing along the way
often
But that comes with learning
new things, ways of doing
It's not easy some times
More input than output
That easy road looks very inviting
But it's pretty straight, boring really
There's something inviting about the uncertainty of the next corner
the next wave
the next project
There's something inviting about failure too

It means your'e living.

Office

The Office

Walking through National Park with a group of German exchange students. Chatting about the landscapes, the flora and fauna. Getting some insight in to life in Germany. 

Stopping for a picnic lunch, where this photo was taken and then taking them down to the lagoon for a swim. Another 4 km walk through remnant rainforest and scrubland to a waiting bus.

Not a bad office!

And this is work

I'm taking a group for a day walk on the weekend in Bournda National Park. Had a few hours this morning so I used it to 'reccy' the trails so I will know where to go with the clients. It was about a 12km run through some stunning scenery on a beautiful day.

And I get paid for the time!

Checking out the surf near Bournda Island on the way back to the car revealed head to head and a half a-frames consistently barreling down the line. So it was clock off, grab the board and head out. I only had 45 minutes in the water, but it was an extraoridinary 45 minutes. Out by myself catching wave after wave. I could not get the grin off my face.

Back to the car, home for some lunch then off to Tathra to teach Year 5 and 6s Surfing and Surf Safety.

Life's good.

Simple. Reminder to self

Drink tea from a pot
Go for a bike ride without a computer telling you how far you've been
Don't turn on the TV
Grow your food. It teachers you how important, costly, time-consuming it really is
Ride your bike to the surf
If there's no surf, swim
Read more
Stretch
Make plans instead of dreaming
Smile
Hug your kids more
Enjoy silent moments
Go for a walk along the beach
Sleep early
Go for runs to explore
Make things, good things
Write
Kiss your wife more
Don't make things complicated, they're not.
Enjoy simple.

Journey

A walk in the woods.

Climbing a mountain.

Finding a new surf break.

Discovering a new track.

And where do you end up?

Where you started.

Sort of. Cause you've changed.

Not because of your destination, you started there.

Because of the journey.

Funny thing is, we spend most of our time with destination focus, like we have some say in that.

When it's where and how we journey that counts.

Breath in the journey.

A message to a few dad's out there...

You know that boy, yep, your son? You get the occasional call from school about him. Ok, not occasional, most weeks you’ll get a call. It’s from the polite Assistant Head of School, or sometimes the Principal. They use terms like “he’s been in compliant” or, “he’s had an incident with another student where he has been violent”. You’re asked to go into school for a chat. Your boy seems to show remorse. He’s sorry. He won’t do it again. He answers all the questions with the right answer.

If the Principal told you the truth, he would tell you that your boy is a thug. He thinks that the rules simply don’t apply to him, he shows no respect to anyone, he swears, is violent, abusive and really, if the Principal could expel him from the school, he would.

But you know all that about your son, don’t you. 

And guess what? This boy who the other kids either avoid, humour, fear or loath, well, the one person he aims to be most like, who he respects more than any one else, that’s you! You're his dad. His hero.

So what are you doing about it? If he’s trying to be like you does that mean you’re a thug? Is he rising to the challenge of being as big a dickhead as you?

Or have you been overtaken in the hero worship? That can happen if you never talk to him and he spends more time in front of Playstation or his latest DVD than he does with you. If he doesn’t even know you then Halo’s going to be a more important aspect of his life than his father. 

Or do you know he’s challenging, difficult, with some issues, but you’re too proud to seek help. I mean, that would be a bit weak wouldn’t it? And when it all gets too much, a decent smack seems to quiet him down for a while.

You choose what it is- you know best.

I’ll tell you what I know...

He is the problem.

You are the solution.

Nature

I think I'm meant to live in the country. I love the quiet roads, open space, and just being closer to lots of wonderful creatures. The other day I woke up to the usual chorus of birds around our house. Went for a surf where I was surrounded by at least 15 dolphins. At one stage I thought they were surrounding me to then have a go (dolphins can be a little aggressive), but they were just getting into position to surf. And surf they did. At one stage I got caught inside and looked over to see a few jump through the shore break with ease to head further out. I caught a wave where I nearly got hit by one down the line- he dropped in!

 Then, at the end of the day, after the kids were asleep, I went for a mountain bike ride at Mandeni, where I saw the usual wallabies and a couple of wombats, oh and nearly ran over a brown snake! What I initially thought was a dark, large stick across the track, was not. In the moment I had to adjust I thought I was heading around the tail end of the snake. It wasn't and as I flew past it had a go at my shoe. No harm done.

Ahhh, country life. Beautiful!

Joy

I had a surf lifesaving patrol at Pambula today. Part of the day involved doing a program with the Special Nippers group, children with special needs. I was partnered up with Jake, who is a quadriplegic. The club has a special wheelchair that can go through sand, so we got him down there and I pushed him, firstly along the sand as we played relay games and 'flags', then into the water as we waded around another surf club member, splashed and got hit by some 'enormous' waves. Jake and I were having a blast.

Then it was time to get a surfboard out. Three of us lifted Jake from the wheelchair and lay him on the board. I jumped on the back and paddled into a rolling whitewater wave.

"I'm surfing! I'm surfing!!' Jake couldn't stop yelling. When we got to the shore he cried, 'That was awesome! Can we do that again?'

'Of course we can!'

I paddled Jake into three more waves. He couldn't wait to get home to tell his dad about how cool his day was and how he is now a surfer.

He also couldn't stop smiling.

And neither could I.