Sheet-like, pouring, driving, pitter-pattering, down pouring rain! For a few days now it has been flowing and flowing at fast, then slow then gargantuan velocities! So much rain obviously nourishes the land here, along with the vibrant sunlight. I have a sense of being in a land which is alive, aware and growing every moment. Rain is holy here, but I am uninitiated and impatient for beams of light. I am feeling a bit of cabin fever... I didn't go in the water yesterday or spend much time on the beach in the rain. Today I will, whether it is a hike on the waterlogged NaPali coast or a drive to see if another part of the island is sunnier.
Though I didn't venture out yesterday, Kramer did. He went surfing in the afternoon for an hour. I elected to stay in the car and finish the last pages of my book. It was hard to concentrate though, because there were some wicked whippersnappers out there cutting up the waves in a gritty gangster surf style which was hypnotic. I put down my book and watched between waters sliding down the windshield. Off to the right, though, there was a flash of gold in the parking lot which caught my attention. I rolled down my window, feeling some of the humidity of the closed car slip out and fresh rain patter on my leg. Craning my head back to look, I saw a tall, lean teen-aged girl wrestling to get her surfboard out of a large silver pickup truck with her arm. My eyes locked on her. I knew her! Thinking back, I remembered seeing her on television. That girl... that girl who got her arm eaten by a shark. I remembered the media blitz years ago. She surfed since toddler-hood with her whole surfer family and was on her way to becoming a pro competition surfer...
She grabbed her board and jogged out to the sand. I couldn't help but just stare. She was gorgeous, with a stub at her shoulder where her left arm should be. She paused on the sand and seemed to converse with a woman with a video camera ... I imagined that the small crew there may be producing some sort of news or documentary story about her, still today. Then she ran off through the rain into the waves. I was just simply and fully astounded. She was out there bobbing on the waves with the rest of them, catching some coming in and going back out. When Kramer got back into the car I pointed her out and he said, "Oh yea..." and we looked up the story when we got back. Irony of ironies, the attack happened across the street from where we are staying, at Tunnels beach.
To me, this woman is the ultimate icon of bravery. Having had a fear of sharks since childhood, I always hesitate before entering the ocean. For decades I spent nighttime dreaming of encountering sharks in water. So I guess I am a bit paranoid. And I don't even surf! But to have your arm taken by a 14-foot shark and then to hop back in continue surfing 3 weeks later. This girl deserves a medal in my mind! To me this is facing the ultimate fear. Wow. I just went to her website and learned so much more: http://www.bethanyhamilton.com She is a huge celebrity in the surfing world and beyond.
She has been actively competing ever since! When judges offered her more time to get out into the waves before others in her heat, she refused and went out with the pack. And she still places and often wins! She has written books, teaches at surf camps, has a documentary film which has been made about her, etc etc etc. One busy woman! I am so inspired. Her story makes me look within and question fear.
Meditation for Courage
I am filled with courage! I breathe deeply in and out, knowing all is well in my world. I calm my mind through breathing. I observe my breath, in and out. I observe what is. What is, is good! What is, is now. I love the now. Reality is beautiful. All is well. I am so grateful.