...POSSESSIONS ** , eh ?! ....

General Discussion
1

yes , I have loved surfing . And boards . And watching surfing . And reading about surfing . And photographing surfing . And dabbling with fins and the occassional boardmaking adventure while here in the west of oz.

 

still DO.

 

  But now [ as I'm sure anyone who has moved after a few decades in one place , can testify ]...

 

 "  possessions " , though enjoyed , 'can' be "a millstone around my neck , at times ! ", as a mate so eloquently put it , recently ! [ are they perhaps 'possessions' , because they can have the capacity to 'possess' me / us ?]

 

  with one board , a backpack , and a bit of [?lot of?] cash backup , moving would be so much easier / less traumatic ...

 

  can you relate ?

 

  some of you , who have moved overseas ...  did you travel with [m]any boards / wetsuits / assorted paraphernalia ?

 

   cheers !

 

  ben

 

 [ **  this   ..... is only the tip of the surfing iceberg , that I am talking about ]

2

Ben you got it figured out.

The road of Life takes many turns, and there are forks in the road that lead to a dead end. Just turn around and go back to the fork then follow the road. Don’t get tripped up when you get to another dead end, just keep moving down the road. The journey is the key, not the destination. Enjoy the ride, it’s all there is.

Possessions are accumilated as we become grounded. Less is more, more or less. Too much is a burden that becomes an anchor. Trying to get rid of excess is very hard. You can always justify why you should keep something, but do you really need it? I’m trying to do that myself. When I moved into my house, I had a lot of open space. The space is gone, I have filled every nook and cranny with stuff. I need to purge because I can’t find things anymore.

The key is enjoying what you have. In the end it’s not how much you have, it’s how much you’ve shared, and how many you’ve touched, how many you really care about and how many really care about you. It’s not how much you know, but how many know you. You’ve touched a lot of your Swaylocks family, and we are better because of it.

Change is the hardest thing to do, but once you get past the initial shock, it’s easier to deal with. Just remember that change is the only constant in life. We are always in a state of change. The world is constantly changing, so we must change or we get left behind. I hope you find great things ahead of you, and you don’t get bogged down by the cycle of change.

Remember to get in the water often to maintain sanity, and let us all know when and where you settle down. Finally, keep shooting photos!

3

thanks harry !

 

you and bernie are encouraging , in the ongoing [ he is sadly missed here , by me] absence of kokua , nowadays . He IS still alive though .

 

 'purge'

 

  haha

 

yes , indeed !  ...

 

 ...THAT is a good description , i think ....

 

  cheers mate

 

  'if' i go offline because of internet absence , know that I STILL will think of you , make fins , take photos...

 

my blog 'may' get topped up from time to time .  In the time honoured tradition of 'NOT naming spots' , they will be / remain "anonymous" , of course ....

 

for those whose real addresses and names I have ,

 

there is , of course , always good 'old fashioned' snail mail .

 

  And , on cold , rainy , onshore [indoor] days without a computer ...

 

...then ...

 

  books , writing letters , sorting photos and checking out the many boards there , will be plan B ....

 

 the local library there , may well offer 'internet' time allotments , 'IF' I feel the need for reading emails , looking at facebook , and checking out photos here occassionally ??   [ although , like good surf mags , I mainly 'just look at the pictures ' anyway , nowadays ...]

 

   cheers Harry .... thanks for replying , mate !

 

  ben

4

[?interesting?] aside

 

  all the phone calls I have had ,

 

  have been regarding the single fins.

 

  since kelly [tom , before him , bunker , before him , nat and ted , before that ......... etc , etc]  started riding 5'4's , I can't GIVE AWAY my 6'3 , 6'6 , or 6'11 thrusters ...they are "longboards" now , to most in the present fashion .

 

  kelly , ride some guns [5'11 plus?] again !!

 

..... so we can return to being able to offload our quivers .....

 

  :/

 

ben

5

Hey Chip!!

You can’t give away your 6’3’, 6’6’’ or 6’11’s in W.A, what?! It’s pretty hard to catch a wave at 8ft+ Main Break, Margs on a 5’4’’ though!! 

 

So where are you going and whats the magic one (two?) board quiver that you’re taking??  

 

Here’s a cool story about a board.  I made this guy a board who is guiding for 6 months in a resort in nth sumatra, he only took two boards for 6 months!! I said this wasn’t enough.  Anyway whilst on a long boat ride coming back from an offshore wave his only MARSH step up board blows off the boat and he relises it’s gone when back to shore.  Devistated he sends me an email asking for another one to be sent to the back of bum fluff no where (the money’s on top of the fridge, just send it would ya mate).  Two days later the board washes up on shore in the village, old grandmar picks it up, its got his name on it and she returns it to the camp.   Stoked!!

 

Then two weeks later he snapped it, probably doing one of these haha!!

 

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6

hey ben i’d be happy to look after some of those surfers journals or old 70’s mags. would love to have a read over them. 

7

all just stuff

people surround themselves with stuff

it comforts them, makes them feel secure

for many, the self reward for hard work

fancy houses, cars, shiny trinkets, all just stuff

in the end, all we have are our memories

of the special moments that defined our journey

so we can spend our time collecting stuff

or making memories of those special moments

at the end of the journey

when reflecting on the path behind

the stuff collected will mean nothing

the moments will mean everything

 

 

 

 

8

Ben I got you all over my FB page, whenever you add photos I get them. You may be a long way from where Bernie and I are in the physical sense, but you’re really not more than a thought away. And those are usually happy thoughts of a smiling face.

If you can’t sell your boards, maybe you could leave them with friends until things sort out and then you can decide what to do. Kelly and the rest will be back on longer boards as soon as they get a little older.

9

[quote="$1"]

hey ben i'd be happy to look after some of those surfers journals or old 70's mags. would love to have a read over them. 

[/quote]

 

i wish thinking of you the other day zac ,

 

  as i have some nice photography books i'd like to give you to, don't want to throw them out .

 

  if you pm me your email address and snail mail address , we can sort something out , i'm sure .

 

   I reckon I may have to visit there one day to meet you , and to see if simon's old place in av is still there . I also want to  see the skatepark there again , and the one at mona vale . A mate has kindly offered for me to stay at manly , and its only a ['shortish'] bus ride on the 189 or 190 from there [.... and a scenic one , speaking of memories . ]

 

  cheers harry , cheers lcc ...

 

ha marsh , classic story !

 

  the 'dead at 27' thing , on the bottom of his board ??

 

 ... I just hope by that , he means his BOARD , and not HIM ,  as self-fulfilling prophecies ...well, you know .....

 

  cheers !

 

  ben

10

good on ya , 'mp' !

 

  if i did that , even once every year , over the 20 years I have  lived in this flat , the suitcase and backpack woulda been ready to walk out the door the minute I got the news that changed everything , on january 18th .

 

  that , and having saved money .

 

  still ...

 

....we can't change the past eh , so ...no point living in it .

 

the present is all we have often , to enjoy day by day . That's what I am trying to focus on at present .

 

And the 'bumtail' board of Ross's ?

 

.....it  got another paddle this morning , too.

 

Alas , a stinger invasion , of almost  plague proprtions , this morning meant I left the water without catching even one wave [?!!]

 

  Thank goodness for full length wetsuits , eh ?! [I DID wonder why the water was empty , on such a WARM  morning [yesterday was 36 degrees C , here ... that is unseasonably warm , for AUTUMN here !]

 

  cheers !

 

  ben

11

hi CHIP

Interesting thread as i have been going through the same process . After Xmas i had this urge to simplify my life.  Kids had left home and it was a time to organise for the future. I wanted to have less choice in order to have less worry concern etc . so i began with my wardrobe going through and getting down to basics throwing out anything i thought was superfluous . Remembering how we lived in the 60’s and 70’s, a very sparse wardrobe but practical . Next all my surf mags and most of my books and Dvds .Finally old boards I havnt ridden for ages i have sold or selling. This happened around the time i have started Handboarding which fits into the less is more enjoyable approach to life .  Now i have one longboard and flippers  handboard .

I tell you it feels great .

Good luck with the move

cheers

Mpcutback