Follow your desires - Windsurfing
Updated: Jun 3, 2022
Overcoming fears
'We do not need to be changed or fixed, just think differently.
To do this, we need to erase the fears that build the barriers.'
– Arnie Thomas
As an introduction to the articles on the page “Follow your desires-windsurfing“, I’d like to say several more things about overcoming fears that so often hinder us to a great extent.
When I started my surfing lessons, rather than worrying about the impossibility to return to the shores and something serious happening to me when I fall into the water, my fear was how to avoid other surfers and prevent collision or an unpleasant situation. This kind of fear is probably not common, but it blocked me so much that I often sat on the shores watching other beginners resolve the same situation. I was afraid that I would bother the others so much and that the uneasiness I’d feel would be stronger than my wish to surf and that it would block me in doing it. I chose to take the first sailing lessons when there were not that many surfers postponing that way the inevitable, i.e. putting off learning the lessons of behavior in the windsurfing traffic off-shore. In case there would be a boat or a small ship in the vicinity, I practically had panic attacks. Of course, in order to avoid someone coming your way, you can always release the boom and jump into the sea, but that seemed a cowardly act and I was ashamed to do it. In order to avoid doing that, I tried to simulate such a situation during my first lessons and I tried to imagine other surfers coming towards me. By moving back and forward (with the boom and mast) along the length of the sailing board, we practically choose the speed we want to achieve when moving towards someone. One can adjust the course and speed of movement by moving the sail towards or from ourselves, by which we control the power of wind blowing into the sail. Also very important is the angle of sail we alter and correct by our hand movement closer to the rear part of the rig. Whilst “catching” these moves and effects they have on the movements of our sailing board, we slowly enter the world of nature and its laws. I read about this before my attempts, I listened to the instructions, but only when you’re swept by that unique feeling, you realize that you are caught in the trap of pleasure and beauty that this sport offers. I got the courage up for the windsurfing fuss only after overcoming these steps and uncovering the effects of the wind speed changes on my stability at the board.
I got the courage up for the windsurfing fuss only after overcoming these steps and uncovering the effects of the wind speed changes on my stability at the board. The rules of behavior in a crowd are specific, but everyone does the same thing, so that with the attention of everyone this behavior actually sharpens our routine and our feeling for it.
