Being Positive Person

Its a strange thing you know. All my life, I have striven to set myself up for a "sea-change". I love to surf and I've always admired those who can commit their life to surfing. Living on the beach and paddling out for waves is more important to them than anything else in their lives. So, trying to emulate them, I worked and made decisions and wheeled and dealed and I've finally made it.

Now I live on the Gold Coast in Queensland. One of Australia's best beach towns. I can hear the ocean from my window as I type this article. And as I type, I ask myself "why are you typing?". You see it is Thursday already and I have not been for a surf this week. Why did I come all this distance for, only to sit at home typing?

I know the answer, sometimes I just do not like to admit it to myself, but life is about balance. I need to do everything to bring the level of variety into my life that will keep me sane. Just as 15 hour days in the office would drive me mental, so would 15 hours in the surf everyday. Sure, I would become a damn good surfer, but the cost would be my love for the ocean and my sanity.

Humanity is about development. We all try to improve ourselves as individuals and also as a community. Intellectual development is part of that. Our intellect is as important a part of us as any other part of us and needs to be exercised as well. This is why I type, I am ensuring I do not get bored of mind because that has the power to permeate into the rest of our lives.

Tomorrow is another day. Tomorrow I will go for a surf. That will satisfy a hunger of a different kind.

Emotions are an important part of us too and should be exercised like our intellect. I find the best place to do this is in the development of relationships. My first child, a daughter, taught me so much about myself in this regard. As a parent, nothing is sacred. You need to be open to giving away everything, including ideas and opinions. It is in this selfless giving that I mature emotionally.

With all aspects of our lives, if we don't feed a part of it, we get hungry. Hunger expresses itself in different ways though. I think the hunger of emotional growth is the continual push, or search for an enforced boundary. The greater the hunger, the more extreme the search.

Then there is spiritual growth, most people ignore this completely and wonder why they are searching for "more meaning" in their life. This need for more meaning is the hunger for spiritual growth. It does not take much to satisfy this hunger. For me, surfing is part of this also, but so is yoga, volunteer work and a tiny bit of meditation.

Part of the human need is to learn as we go and get better as people, but we need to do this in a balanced manner. We all are complex beings with physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs. Neglecting any facet of ourselves leads to a hunger that needs to be satisfied. Recognizing and taking action on these hungers is one of the keys to long term happiness.