I went surfing in my very first “competition” yesterday.
I am humbled daily that I get to learn to surf here; the North Shore of Oahu is one of the most difficult, influential and “once in a lifetime” places to surf in the whole world. And I get to learn the ways of these waves almost any day of the week.
The competition was billed as a Halloween thing; open to all levels of surfers with prizes for costumes, and photos posted from years past that conveyed the feeling. People surfing in ape costumes, and even high heels.
Silly and fun.
And while it was silly and it was fun (I have not worn a costume in years!), it was silly of ME to think any surf anything on the North Shore here would be truly low-key.
I know what it is to be really good at something. I have spent years in mastery in other realms; music and midwifery.
And here I am starting again; learning from the ground up. Aware of some things that I don’t know. And pretty unaware of all I do not know. It’s a cool and weird place to be as an adult, but here’s a reminder that I/you can embark on any journey you wish, and “mastery” can be part of this experience.
But “Mastery” is a journey.
It just cannot be bought, or rushed or experienced more quickly than we are supposed to. Ugh, it’s so tempting to try to rush it. I love that many surfers I have met refer to it as the “surfing journey”, and I wonder how it would be if we truly approached birth work, or even birth herself, with this energy.
What has your journey to birth been like? Are you where you want to be? What has it been like to get to this point? What is there that you can’t wait to learn or experience?
My list with surfing is long. I want to be able to ride bigger waves, and different boards. I want to have more confidence in the water and be prepared for wipeouts better. I want to know more about the currents, the winds, and the waves. I hope every day that I am truly able to hold what is shown to me, that I can learn from it and improve physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
The journey to birth work is also mastery. We wait for the women and the babies to teach us, and we hope we can be worthy of the lessons in the meantime.
As for me yesterday, I certainly did not win any surfing awards. Although I joked maybe I would win the “out in no man’s land” award since I basically found my own spot out in the Ocean. And it wasn’t an award, but another win for me was identifying the rip current well enough to not get caught in it; (there were several adults, no judgement, that had to be rescued by water safety!) and to that I credit my mentor, who is teaching me the ways of the Ocean outside of just being on a board.
Mentors have been a huge piece for me on this mastery journey.
I wish the same for any of you seekers out there and I wonder how your own mastery journeys are shaping up. Whether it is birth work, or some other kind of seeking, I see you. It is a beautiful journey to mastery, but it is full of lessons and obstacles and all the weird things we sign up for unknowingly when we say YES to the journey.
Wishing you a beautiful week.
Maryn
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