Learning to surrender on the ocean waves of Nosara, Costa Rica. Words :: Noa Hawthorn Harris // photos :: Glen Harris.
There is no feeling quite like catching your first smooth, unbroken wave.
I spent the first half of our class working on the small foamy wave close to shore, frustrated with my inability to just ride the wave. My instructor called from the lineup, reminding me to relax and ease into it.
I became aware of the fact that I was fighting the ocean’s rhythm, falling off my board before even trying to trust the swell. I glided into the next wave, breathing with the ocean, mindful of my body, my balance and my strength. I caught it!
My first green wave of many and my first lesson in working with the ocean, not against it. Those 15 seconds riding the wave seemed to last forever. In that long moment, I fell in love with the power of being present on my surfboard and surrendering to the rise and fall of the ocean.
When you surf, you are disconnected from the rest of the world, forced to move at the speed of Mother Nature. The waves will not speed up or slow down for you; you must move with them. When we allow it to, the ocean carries us. It is powerful and fierce, yet it holds us with softness and grace. There is an exhilarating but also meditative feeling that comes with becoming one with the ocean and the waves.
When I step into the ocean and get on my surfboard, I learn more about the world and myself. And each time I return to Costa Rica with my family, I find myself reenergized. The ocean sets off a bright and vibrant spark inside me, and I see it in the people around me, too.
The ocean is a safe space for my brother and me—a place that has always connected us, where we can be our authentic selves. One night under a full moon, when the sky was bright orange, we lay in the ocean, being held by the salt water. Later, we danced in the waves. My brother was beaming. I loved seeing him in that state of bliss.
We surf for freedom, balance, joy, presence and grounding. Surfing fuels our life. The ocean becomes our home and the waves become our breath. The ocean takes all our worries and fears and washes them away. They are taken deep down into Mother Nature and transformed into something beautiful. Being in the ocean grounds us back into nature and our bodies.
The ocean takes all our worries and fears and washes them away. They are taken deep down into Mother Nature and transformed into something beautiful.
Learning to surf was the greatest gift little me ever could’ve asked for. Throughout my life, I will carry the lessons that surfing has taught me. I have found so much joy and grounding from being a surfer and I share that feeling with all the surfers around me. I wish for everyone to experience the ocean through a surfboard and to find the same love, peace and joy that it brought me and my family.
My instructors at Safari Surf School taught me how to be brave, strong and graceful in the waves. I may have been one of the youngest people out there, but I was a surfer, and that’s all that mattered.
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