can trace the exact same feeling that I have now,
at 32 years old, to when I was a child growing up
in Greece and my earliest memories of being
intoxicated by the sensation, energy and power of
the waves breaking, and wanting to play and run
with them. I started surfing when I was a teenager
and the feeling of riding a wave never changes;
the surge of energy, the happiness, the pure stoke
of connecting with nature in a state of play, it’s
relentlessly electrifying. Being away from it is like
being apart from a great love.
You have to harness your own bravery and strength
in the water, you have to keep getting up when you
fall. This can overlap into life and your approach to it.
I love surf spots with positive energy, where strangers
share smiles, new friendships are forged and you feel
that incomparable loving energy. I also enjoy more
challenging spots where I can push my own physical
power and feel the adrenaline.
Sometimes in the water I can feel the full
reverberations of Mother Nature coursing
through me, it makes me truly feel like I have an
understanding of the power of life. An incredible
wonder touching you. The profoundness of those
moments – when I feel an almost spiritual existential
understanding of life, nature and myself – fires me
with energy and love.
@sophiemadtolive / @madtoliveretreats
http://www.wearemadtolive.comSophie Everard is a freelance journalist and
the founder of Mad to Live Retreats. She
rides a 5.8 twin fin, or 9.2 single fin log.You have to harness your own
bravery and strength in the
water, you have to keep getting
up when you fall. This can
overlap into life and your
approach to it., S 6
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