Why do I do what I do? No, really why?

5.3.09

I’ve finished my final paper for the MA program at Temple. Julie will edit it for me. I’ll print it out and deliver it to Professor Nguyen on Tuesday. What confuses me is how I feel – there’s no sense of satisfaction. It’s an empty feeling – like I’ve lost something that defines who I am. For the past three years, I have been a graduate student. Now I’ve graduated – what’s next?

Ah, Germain Grisez was right. In his book, Beyond the New Morality, he argues that if you base your happiness on accomplishing goals – then you can never be happy, because happiness is something in the future, something you are always striving for. As soon as you reach your goal, you must set a new one. There is no time to relax. There is no moment of accomplishment, satisfaction, or happiness. How can I break this cycle?

Maybe I’ll choose a distraction – like surfing? Do I really love surfing? Why do I surf? Why do I teach? No, really why?

I like surfing for many reasons:
1. I like the way it makes me feel. Athletic, Powerful, Excited, Stoked.
2. I like the way I look in my surf gear – I rock that wetsuit!
3. I like surf culture – it offers an alternative to mainstream society that focuses on living in the moment, The Journey, and doing something you love.
4. I like the aesthetic beauty of surfing – I could watch videos of Mark Richards and Shaun Thomson all day.
5. I like that surfing is an activity that I can share with my wife – like tennis, only its not competitive (for me anyways).
6. I like how surfing makes me aware of the ocean, the beach, and the environment in general. I feel more in touch with Mother Nature and I care more about her.
7. I like the challenge of surfing – the physical challenge of trying to catch a wave, the mental challenge of finding good surf in a constantly changing system of energy, the emotional challenge of overcoming fear.
8. I like that surfing takes place in the water and at a beach. I can spend an entire day at the beach, exercising and having a ton of fun.
9. I like how difficult it is to surf. When I actually catch a wave and stand-up for the ride, I get a huge sense of accomplishment because it is no easy task. If it was really easy to surf, a lot more people would do it.
10. I like surfing because it makes me happy. Just thinking about surfing makes me smile.

It took me less than ten minutes to come up with ten reasons why I like surfing – that’s pretty good – I think it is safe to say, I definitely like surfing.