Flow

“There’s no secret to balance, you just have to feel the waves.” - Frank Herbert

Flow is a state of effortless being. 

A state of presence where the mind is fully absorbed in the moment, free of it’s incessant fretting over what might be or what’s already come. 

An exceedingly rare place to visit.

We spend most of our days in the opposite state. Being pulled by the riptide of responsibilities that so often drags us through our days.  

Coming into this week, I was fraying at the seams a bit.

I needed more than morning meditation and the other tools I’ve developed to keep me centered and occasionally finding that pocket of presence.

A complete recharge was in order. A few days disconnected from it all. 

So the timing was perfect to spend a few days with my family in Eastern Tennesee. 

No work. No training. Just presence and play with the people I love most.

After a couple days of settling in to our house in the hills, I found what I was looking for. 

I captured the transcendent experience to deepen the experience in my mind.

Surf’s Up

I float in the bath-warm waters of the Tennessee River.

Heels gently pressed against the small foam nodules that cover the surface of the wakesurfing board. 

My hands with a firm, yet relaxed hold on the cushioned bar of the tow rope.

My knees are pulled into my chest as I bob in the waves of the passing speedboat’s wake, waiting for them to subside. 

I’m surrounded by rolling hills and lush green scenery along riverbanks. Overhead, the azure summer sky is filled with billowing clouds, swollen with mid July Humidity. 

My nostrils flare slightly as I take a deep, centering breath. I exhale fully, and exclaim “Go!” 

The boat’s motor roars to life! 

In an instant, every muscle in my body contracts.

The rope snaps straight and pulls violently against my arms, chest, and shoulders. Simultaneously, my heels press down on the edge of the board.  My quads and calves explode as I press myself upwards, leveraging the force of the board against the water.

In a split second, I’m upright, cutting through the churning wash of the surf boat’s wake and angling the board over the crest of the fast-forming wave.

Muscle memory kicks in—my feet find their place as I ride the wave’s edge and slide outside the wake.

I see the perfect arch of the green-blue wave the boat is designed to create take shape.

Calm and balanced now, I begin to pull myself closer into the boat, one knot of the rope at a time. 

I glance up and see my wife smiling at me from the boat, allowing herself to be impressed. My three children, not so much. 

Captain James guides the vessel expertly as my niece Ally hits play. 

The speaker bass booms and music fills the air as I guide the board back into position behind the boat. 

I smile as a sense of gratitude washes over me.

My focus sharpens now as I become fully present to the motion of the water and the feel of the board beneath my feet.

The rope now slack in my right hand, as everything becomes one with the energy of the wave. 

I find the spot and let go of thinking. 

Feeling now. Trusting. 

I toss the rope onto the boat and I’m free.

Floating.

I’m aware of the streaming white foam lines in the water as my board glides along the surface. 

My weight shifts subtly, intuitively, between front and back foot as I maintain the board’s position against the curl of the wave. 

Energy transcends boundaries as I feel one with wave, sun and sky. 

It’s effortless. Time stands still.  

Pure flow. 

For a breath, maybe more, I’m free of ego’s weight.

It never stays long—not in this world.

But even briefly touching it like this, fuels a surge of awareness that awakens every cell in my body. 

Alive now! My ego returns and invites a new challenge. 

I begin to shift my weight more aggressively, carving the board to the left and right.

I lose the pocket and begin to drift towards the back side of the crest as my momentum wanes.

I shift my right foot hard into the board and slide back down the face into the sweet spot. 

The zen of being is replaced by the thrill of doing!  

I howl with delight, having kept the delicate thread of balance and movement in sync. 

I here the hoots and cheers from the boat and see that even my kids are watching and smiling now.

At last, my momentum comes to a rest as I drift off the wave. 

I gesture both arms upwards towards the sky as my board sinks beneath the surface and my body is submerged again in the warm river water.

Taking it With Me

Recounting the experience reminds me how apt a metaphor for life it is.

How much effort we exert daily just to remain upright and balanced as life pulls us forward. 

It’s taken me a lot of practice in wakesurfing, and life, to find that sweet spot. 

That state of calm, trust and presence in the middle of the all motion. 

Easing and allowing rather than forcing things to be.

And like wakesurfing, it’s hard to stay there long. Energy shifts from all directions, pulling us off center.

But I know it exists, however elusive.

And with practice, I can return, wherever I am.

Each experience strengthens the neural scaffolding that supports this space.

Over time, it becomes easier to find, regardless of what’s swirling around me.

A place where I can let go of the noise of the world.

To find the flow that always resides inside me, steady and supportive, like the water beneath the board.

-Coach Kris