Fighting with salt.

I didn't think I could feel the depth of longing for salt water quite so much as I do now. Both tears and waves are what I need to cleanse me and revive me from the sadness howling around the caverns of my body. 

A dear friend of mine has died and the void which he's left behind within my life takes the breath right out of me. We hadn't spoken for ages but he was the kind of friend I assumed I'd randomly meet again on a beach somewhere. He was such a free spirit and well phones weren't his forte. 

His name was Joey and he was one of those rare kinds of people that made you think there couldn't possibly be anyone like him anywhere else in the world. Joey was the person who got me interested in veganism and was an influence for the surfing. It dawned on me that ironically Saltburn, the first destination for the land locked surfers club, is where he used to surf. 
I'm going to try my best to catch a wave in his honor. I want to sit on my board between the sets feeling the ocean move underneath me and thinking about our memories together. 

Joey being Joey.

Round one of an eating competition.

Beach gymnastics 

He used to talk to me at length about this poem called Jonathan Livingston Seagull which uses seagulls as a metaphor for life. I've started reading tidbits and am finding it really resonating with my thoughts. The shock of loosing Joey is immense and I don't know how to get my head around the fact he won't be around anymore, he was such a life force, an effervescing kind of person. 

If our friendship depends on things like space and time, then when we finally overcome space and time, we've destroyed our own brotherhood! But overcome space, and all we have left is Here. Overcome time, and all we have left is Now. And in the middle of Here and Now, don't you think that we might see each other once or twice?
                                  - Jonathan Livingstone Seagull 

Over the last couple of days due to work I've had to bottle up my grief but at home, here in my own space, I find myself unable to stop crying. Its at times like these Jack Johnson cds are on repeat, his tropical melodies give me great solace and remind me that I can overcome sadness. 

I also keep thinking that I need to appreciate the wonderful people I surround myself with more and not take their mortality for granted. I don't want to feel regret for not making enough effort. Life is sexually transmitted and fatal so make sure you live it well. Go hug the person next to you and ring dear ones immediately or even better go see them and tell them exactly how much they mean to you. 

And lastly listen to this. 

Stay strong, surf well 

x