Woah Woman.

Is it me or can worrying feel like a full time profession? This thinking is largely derived from a TEDx talk by Sam Achor (which you can see here), within his speech Sam discussed how happiness is measured by success. The trouble with success is that the goal posts are constantly moved, so you get good sales targets, you have to get better, you get good grades you have to get better grades and so on. 

I resonated so much with this idea, I've gotten into the University I wanted to, to do the course I've been working towards for two years. Not only that but its near the surfing beach which brings me back to myself. Rather than concentrating on the massive opportunities at hand, I am dwelling on thoughts like it's going to be too difficult, I'm going to miss home, its going to be too hard for Mr Sunny and I to keep a relationship going. Blah, blah, bloody blah. 

Why do we sabotage our potential for happiness by recycling old fears and insecurities? 

In Tibet Buddhist monks create something called Mandalas, which are beautiful intricate designs they make with sand. Creating this beautiful artwork takes hours of dedication and commitment, at the end of which it gets wiped clean. Mandalas are a metaphor teaching us that everything is temporary, once you accept this you can begin living more in the present and not get lost thinking about the past of the future. 

Speaking of past. 

I'm loving the vintage revival in fashion at the moment, the beautiful styles of eras gone by combined with the empowered woman of today is, in my mind, a great combination. I have some vintage inspired shoots coming up soon, for now here's a picture Mr Sunny took of me whilst we attempted to row in Stratford Upon Avon. We were both awful. We nearly trespassed in a nature reserve, we crashed into a river liner, got caught in a current and got laughed at by people on the bridges, its safe to say we are not natural rowers. That being said near death is a very good bonding experience and Mr Sunny and I held each other like survivors when we finally got back on dry land, such fun! 

  



































I shouldn't be wearing this dress, I'm selling it on ebay but I couldn't resist one last outing as the little Cadillac car design seemed so cute to wear in this random bit of sunshine we're having! 

Anywho. Until next time... 

Stay strong and surf well 
Love

Roots.

Reggae is as much a part of Birmingham city (UK) as Birmingham city F.C is and even though I'm a white British girl I proudly hold onto the notion that Birmingham was one of the first cities to embrace reggae and help bring it into popular culture. This credit is obviously owed to the many Caribbean people who made the West Midlands their home and with it bought the unique sound of reggae, dance hall and bashment.
UB40, Steel Pulse, Musical Youth, Pato Banto, Apache Indian and Birmingham was the first place in England Bob Marley came on tour to...

I'm lucky that in the suburb of Handsworth I am able to live and breathe a multitude of different cultures and in this part of town Jamaica can be found in the newsagents, the beauty parlors and in the record shops dotted about the place. Suddenly, knowing that I'll be leaving soon I am filled with sadness- Ironic isn't it. I've spent the best part of two years moaning about being a land locked surfer and now ocean living is a mere few months away I am over come with sadness for going. 

Ever noticed how reggae and surfing seem to go together? Watch a surf documentary and guaranteed you'll hear some reggae music going on in the background. I think its because the unique reggae rhythm compliments the smooth laid back styles of the surfer catching a wave. 

When I was living in Ethiopia I got to know lots of Rastafarians and had the privilege of listening to some wonderful live reggae. Bob Marley's face is everywhere and its hard not to go a day without hearing one of his songs. When I was in Addis Ababa I was still healing, finding myself and figuring out how to proceed with my life. Its why I attribute such a lot to music for helping me (along with surfing of course) to be the happy, balanced person I am today. Regular readers will know Jack Johnson holds a special place in my heart for getting me back on even ground but it was with ceaseless listening to reggae, which helped me return back to myself. Bless reggae!

 




           



















Until next time, 

Stay strong and surf well 
Love

 

Diligent Happiness.

What if I told you, you could be happy 365 days of the year, every year for the rest of your life, would you think I was high? Lately I've been reading about meditation and came across the term 'diligent happiness.' 

Much like drinking water is a conscious act we perform to keep our bodies hydrated, happiness is a conscious decision which we must actively make everyday of our lives.

I know I sound like a care bear but this theory makes so much sense to me because it is giving us the power to shape our own lives exactly how we want them to resemble. 
Like any habit negative thinking is a pattern we get ourselves into, sometimes I liken it to sitting in a warm Jacuzzi, it's easy to luxuriate in the warmth of stagnation to get out, to brave the cold and have to walk to find warmth is so much harder than it is to just sit there and wallow. 

I've been finding solace in positive thinking because such a massive amount of change is happening this year. My dream of living by the ocean is a mere few months away, the course of my dreams (studying Occupational Therapy at Teeside University) is an ambition ready to be fulfilled and on top of all that I am with a man who makes me goofy happy. 

Forgive me for being a little overwhelmed. 

I've been stoking this little fire of foreboding, waiting for something to trip up my happiness. I won't be able to afford it, I'm going to hate the course, Mr Sunny (the boyfriend) and I are going to find long distance too difficult we'll split up. Before I know it I've got myself into a tangled web of negative thinking and things naturally start to go a little wry. 

I am genuinely worrying about the finances of this venture, of being a 25 year old returning to study and trying to survive on very little whilst also somehow affording to travel back and forth to see my boyfriend who lives in Birmingham. How the hell am I going to do this? 

Then I exhale and force myself to dismiss these thoughts. 

Balance is about looking at both the bad and the good and standing somewhere in the middle. I realize these three years of study are going to be a challenge but who said it has to be bad? Challenge suits me, challenge makes me determined and ensures I value my moments of contentment. 

I'm giving myself homework and I think you should study with me too. Set aside ten minutes in your day to meditate. Control you breathing setting a pattern until your mind is focused enough to reach the next level of your meditation. If you have wayward thoughts dismiss them as though they are bits of fluff you brush off your clothes. When you feel centered concentrate on your third eye for a few moments (the spot in between your eyebrows). Finally begin visualizing yourself happy, set yourself in scenes which bring you joy, how does it feel? What are your surroundings, what are the scents and textures of this visualization? Revise the lightness you feel and take it into you like your absorbing golden light. 

Do this so you become accustomed with making yourself happy and being able to dismiss negativity. Suffering is an inevitable part of life but it is your choice whether you hold onto that and continue to neglect yourself. 

I don't know how this year is going to pan out and the toll it'll have on my otherwise lovely relationship but I'll surf and I'll meditate and that is going to ensure I fight everyday to be happy and stay happy. 

   

































These pictures are in no particular order and make no particular sense but I like them. The dog is a border terrier, a dog my folks have agreed on letting me have, which means a family happy to have it around when I return from University. Oh my goodness. 

Until next time, 

Stay strong and surf well 
Love

Saltwater Guru.

It is said that a Guru appears to you exactly when you are supposed to have one in your life - Well I got two in the space of a week. 

My first Guru appeared like all my spiritual apparitions seems to occur, in the passenger seat of a taxi coming back from Handsworth, Birmingham (UK). What started as a generic conversation between me and the taxi driver somehow turned into a deep analysis on meditation and the power of positive thinking. So in depth did our conversation become that he ended up writing me down the name of his guru. I've had the briefest of looks on google upon the Sanskrit name he wrote down but in actuality I can't help but think he was perhaps the teacher to embrace and learn from. 

My second guru came in the flawed but incredible form of 85 year old Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz. To my delight Netflix put another surf film up to watch which I wasted no time in watching! Surfwise is an intriguing documentary about "Doc" a Stanford educated Doctor who at the height of his success quit his job, left his tumultuous marriage and traveled the length and breadth of America, surfing. Along this journey he becomes a sex guru (no seriously), meets the love of his life and ends up having 9 children which he raises in a camper van on the beach. Surfers out there may of heard of the Paskowitz family, that's because many of the children became very successful pro surfers and set up a surf camp which had non other than Kelly Slater working there as one of its up and coming instructors. Yeah they are that cool. 

Doc had a strict philosophy upon health and the power of surfing as being a spiritual experience. Whilst the documentary didn't hold back in exposing his flaws (he was to his detriment extreme with his left wing views, which was sometimes at the expense of his children), I valued his attempts at trying to carve a less commercially driven lifestyle. 

I like my guru's flawed, I like someone I can identify with and who is able to understand the human predicament. At the end of the documentary Doc was able to admit that he had failed his children in his blinkered pursuit of perfect health, surfer lifestyle and impoverished economy (Doc devalued money and placed emphasis on hard work over riches). He quoted his only ambition in life was to be a good husband and father. 

This whole guru conversation got me thinking about soul mates. It is my belief that you have more than one soul mate in life and that this person isn't necessarily a romantic interest. Sometimes soul mates are really great friends, or they even can be lovers who are bad for us and don't work out. Soul mates act like a mirror reflecting our image back to ourselves and offer us up an opportunity to learn or change something about ourselves. 

Perhaps I am a tad flippant throwing around the soul mate label but I think I have a fair few, many of whom surfers. Not all surfers float around in a haze of Eastern philosophy and compassion, I've met a few (rare) cantankerous ones but I do think generally surfers have a tendency towards spirituality, being that their domain offers up so many life lessons. 

Surfing recreates you. I went into the water ready to literally blow my brains out and I came out of the water a warrior 

- Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz 

Anyway. That's enough babble for one post (my internet has been down for a week so I've been desperate to get on here and write. I'm finding it hard to restrain myself)! 

Here's a round up of little events from my life, hope you enjoy! 

Simple pleasures! I discovered in an otherwise trashy girly magazine a whole feature about surfer girls, which was actually pretty enlightening. Hoozar for media actually portraying something positive and empowering about women! 

My beau, affectionately known as 'Mr Sunny' doesn't want to be featured on the blog as he's a very modest kind of person, but I can't help but be a perv and take photos of him when he's not looking! This was a date we had to a local art gallery, minutes before this picture was taken he was acting silly mimicking the sculpture but unfortunately was too quick for me to capture him doing it! 

This is what I wore for our date out. The skirt was £2.95 from a charity shop and can only be described as 'Granny chic.' As you can see I'm wearing my beloved wave necklace too. 

This is one of my favorite paintings in Birmingham Art Gallery, its surf related (obviously) because its a picture of Cornish cliffs, I can't for the life of me remember the artist or the name of said cliffs but it makes me happy looking at it! 

 Another simple pleasure this week, Jack the dog and I went for a long run which culminated on this rather striking Blackcountry hill and Blackcountry view. 

Although I've been making a conscious effort to take more 'style' shots I didn't want to become too stylized so the above and below pictures are clothes I wore to work and when I took Jack out. There's nothing fancy about them or anything particularly special it's just me being me. 

Until next time, 

Stay strong and surf well 

Love

Surf Yogi.

The ASP world tour (that's surfing's equivalent to the world cup), has been in full swing, which you'd think I'd be voraciously following being that this here is a surf life style blog. While I was very interested to hear five time ASP women's world champion Stephanie Gilmore collected her fifth Roxy Pro Gold Coast crown, (topping Bianca Buitendag in the Final), it is from a distance that I admire the fanfare. 

Firstly I can't help but think Surfgirl magazine does a far better job of covering the developments throughout the circuit, which is precisely where I get updated. I also think I'm just a little bit too much of a hippie to get overtly excited by competitive surfing. This is coming from a girl who went to go see the Scarborough surf competition (which was flat...literally...all weekend) and whom certainly plans on going to many surf festivals in the future. 

Watching surf competitions live I imagine is an incredible experience and one I hope to add to the ever growing bucket list, but on an inherently personal level surfing competitively holds no grandeur for me. Obviously my current surf ability is Bambi on ice but I also think that I probably lean more towards being a soul surfer anyway.

As a kid I loved tucking into exploratory books written by the likes of Dame Freya Stark, Dervla Murphy, Charlotte Uhlenbroek and Jane Goodall. So exploratory surfing is a far more appetizing prospect than surf competitions. 

The Saltwater Buddha by Jaimal Yogis and Breath by Tim Winton are both books which explore personal development and travel, they are reads I heartily recommend for both surfers and non surfers alike. 

I draw a great many parallels between my spiritual practice and surfing. Much like the Yogic path, surfing is a process of continued growth and development, which requires dedication and presence. Surfing helps me focus on the here and now which merits my attempts at meditation.

But hey, that's enough philosophizing from one surf yogi to another! 

As aforementioned I have been trying to be more of a presence on my blog and not just a distant writer. The process has been really enjoyable and I'm loving honing my photography skills (which are pretty non existent) so without further ado here are today's snaps. 

 This outfit was decided in 15 minutes so not a great fashion moment but hey this is a true reflection of what kinds of things I wear and the kind of life I lead! Jeans and shoes from H&M t-shirt I haven't the foggiest and dog was rescue! 

Obviously I've instragrammed the shit out of this picture but I like it anyway because I think you can see how eating clean is starting to have a positive effect on my skin. I've always been plagued with bad skin (spotty) so its great seeing the results of clean eating and veganism.

My garden is unusual in that I share it with my neighbours (a lovely hippie couple who I adore), this Buddha is one of Jude's additions to the garden which never fails to make me smile. 

This is Jack who you may have seen a few times on Real Women have Curves and Surfboards. He's the family dog (so unfortunately I have to share him and can't take him to live with me...) He's cantankerous, bad tempered and I often wonder if actually a cat masquerading in a dogs body but my gosh I love this creature. 

Well until next time, 

Stay strong and surf well beautiful yogis! 

Love

Brooding.

When you sense a faint possibility of happiness you must grab onto the ankles of that happiness and not let go until it drags you face-first out of the dirt- its not selfishness, but obligation 
- Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. 

Dress Miss Selfridges in the sale, Boots from Select in the sale, BB cream, hemp lip balm and tea tree concealer all The Body Shop. 

Above shots: Hat and jeans all sale items from H&m, Aztec print cardigan a gift from Mom and the necklace was a gift from a guy called Happy in Senegal!  

Anyone would think I took these pics mid winter, not in the beautiful spring sunshine which is what I actually did. I'm fairly inept when it comes to photography, (which is precisely why in the past I've avoided doing 'style' shots on account of looking shit), but when I was playing around with the editing I loved the haunted look of black and white. All these shots were taken in my garden (and by mine I mean my parents), which has been this way since 1940. I love the stone arches and the rustic shed (made by my Dad with upcycled windows).  I think its given the photos a Gothic air. 

I'm gritting my teeth and pushing through the 'this is so cringy' feeling I get every time I take 'style' shots, I said I wanted to commit to having more of a presence on my blog and gawd dam it I am sticking to my guns! 

In actuality organizing these photos has been a welcome distraction from the brooding I've been doing of late. Having that typical Western indulgence of too much time to think, I was beginning to allow myself to become fearful, you see the thing is;

Happiness is terrifying. 

In the space of a few weeks I got accepted on a University course which means living by the ocean for real, my very new, lovely boyfriend has been 110% supportive and is willing to do the long distance thing (unfortunately he's Birmingham based) aaaaand in a mere few months, I'll be going to South Africa to live another dream of working on a surf community project.

I feel like there is so much to lose and the constant worry of having that happen has got me all twisted up. It gets me thinking about money (or lack of it), how I'm going to afford everything, also that if I'm commuting home frequently I can't possibly have a dog in the seaside dream life. Most importantly of all I worry that the beautiful relationship I find myself in will deteriorate with the slog of having to do long distance. 

So I made myself work out, I did some meditation, I read in the sun (then fell asleep in the sun), I made beautiful nourishing smoothies and I hung out with my parent's dog. 
Fairly standard practice really and dare I say it I feel better. 

The Yogic path is about disentangling the built-in glitches of the human condition, which I'm going to over-simply define here as the heartbreaking inability to sustain contentment - Elizabeth Gilbert. 

This is a picture of a crocus flower I took in my garden, I'm going to take advice from this plant and open up when the sun shines on me and allow myself to be filled with light. When it rains (which is will), I'll soak it up and grow. Simple. 

Until next time,

Stay strong, surf well 
Love