The Person Who Keeps Riding Small Waves

~True freedom is not for showing off, but for keeping going~

I used to go to the beaches in Ibaraki quite often.

However, at some point I stopped going there, and now I head to the beaches in Chiba.

There, too, there is a "regular" who is always there.

It's not a camper van.

It's a small Every car.

It has Saitama license plates, and I'm sure they are a local.

And from that car, an elderly man always appears.

He is probably in his 70s.

But he is more active than anyone else.

He only rides small waves.

But he stays in the water longer than anyone else.

Seeing him surfing silently without even taking a break, my partner was genuinely impressed.

"That's amazing... I hope I can grow old like that."

My partner says they are afraid of getting old, having their back hunch over, and not being able to move.

That is exactly why they keep surfing, to make sure their physical strength doesn't decline.

Back then, when I was watching campers by the sea in Ibaraki,
I still thought somewhere that 'getting things would make me free'.

But this old man in front of me now is different.

He doesn't look like he owns anything.

He is just 'continuing'.

Without standing out, without making noise, like a habit, like breathing,
he calmly surrenders himself to the sea.

I felt quietly happy when I heard my partner say this.

That was not the 'doubt' or 'envy' of the past.

It was an attitude of heart, honestly trying to learn something I need for myself right now.

I think my partner must have realized it.

That true freedom—
is not for showing off, nor for acquiring,
but exists for the sake of continuing.

#RealityCollapseSeries
#SurfingAndLife
#ThePersonWhoKeepsRidingSmallWaves
#FormsOfFreedom
#ElderlySurfer
#WhatIsTrueFreedom
#LivingCalmly
#LessonsFromTheSea
#SoulGrowthRecord