On Being More Like My Kitten

When we adopted 4-month-old Zoe from the shelter two weeks ago, she quickly revealed the basic tenets of her young life:

1. Be fearless.
2. Take risks.
3. Break things.

These were demonstrated by her enthusiastic and thorough examination of the bathroom where she had been temporarily sequestered, which culminated in the crashing of glass as she toppled a vase we thought was out of reach. (Bad kitty parents!)

I decided to emulate Zoe's first two tenets in my surfing. I am often timid, especially since I permanently injured my back going over the falls at Linda Mar, and I don't push myself to take chances. Consequently, my skills progress is slow, at times seemingly glacial. I occasionally surprise myself when I pull off a move I didn't think I could do, which makes me wonder what I could accomplish I only I didn't tend to wait for the almost perfect situations.

So, for surfing in the new year, I will be fearless and take risks. But hopefully I won't break things.