Chandeliers Brah.

Met up with an old friend (Dan Hulme) yesterday and surfed in Pacifica at Rockaway beach. Whenever I check that spot- which isn't often- it is horrible and no one is out. However, yesterday there was a pack out right against the south cliff and a 6-7 foot right breaking into a channel. Low tide was making it throw a little. My wave of the day was a big set and was so fun!!! Dropped in and it was kind of holding back so I turned left to get deep, then turned right as the whole section walled out in front of me and hit the shallow sandbar. Seeing it coming I set a high line on my too floaty 6'4'' epoxy Dan loaned me and the green wall heaved over me. Inside the barrel was all green- no foam- and the sound was like the sucking of a draining tub amplified. After pulling into weak little summer barrels the last few months it was a reminder what a real hollow barrel is. I hardly had to crouch! Should have made it out but the board was so floaty and the fish tail didn't really stick so I caught a rail and went up and over with the lip I was watching two seconds earlier. Stoked!!!This is the wave. Not many were barreling- the one I got was a little surprise.

Check out this video of chandeliers galore!

Click!

Adam Sandler movie that has been on DVD for a while. The acting is as un-amazing as you would expect, but I actually liked the storyline because it got me thinking about how important it is to enjoy every moment of life as we pass through it.

Basically Sandler has a "universal remote" and is able to fast forward past parts of life that he doesn't like- work, marital problems, errands, sickness, etc. He just skips ahead to the realization of his goals of promotions which will buy him enough time to just do what he wants. Ironically, he misses out on what he wants to buy time to do. The happy ending is that it was all a scrooge-like vision of how horrible his life would turn out if he didn't get his priorities straight.

I realized how I'm still on the way to some major goals and need to enjoy the process, rather than obsess about getting there so much that I drone out in present. Life the last few weeks has been subtly different and it feels great to develop new and old friendships. We will reap what we sow. Sometimes it is hard to remember that the reaping should be of eternal value, rather than temporal. Getting caught in the daily grind it seems easy for the tail to wag the dog and for our sub goals to trump major goals. The scriptures break down simply what I am feeling with all this...

Matthew 6:19-21

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

If our treasure is what we want most we will get it. The question is whether it will be worth it when we do. So then what is of the greatest worth?

D&C 15:4, 6

"For many times you have desired of me to know that which would be of the most worth unto you. And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father. Amen."

Why? Because the worth of souls is great in the sight of God. (see D&C 18:10)

Nothing better than sharing the truth! And the truth is the other great thing of value. The scriptures are worth our time and also the means of doing that which is of most worth (helping others)-

Alma 37:8-10

"And now, it has hitherto been wisdom in God that these things should be preserved; for behold, they have enlarged the memory of this people, yea, and convinced many of the error of their ways, and brought them to the knowledge of their God unto the salvation of their souls. Yea, I say unto you, were it not for these things that these records do contain, which are on these plates, Ammon and his brethren could not have convinced so many thousands of the Lamanites of the incorrect tradition of their fathers; yea, these records and their words brought them unto repentance; that is, they brought them to the knowledge of the Lord their God, and to rejoice in Jesus Christ their Redeemer. And who knoweth but what they will be the means of bringing many thousands of them, yea, and also many thousands of our stiffnecked brethren, the Nephites, who are now hardening their hearts in sin and iniquities, to the knowledge of their Redeemer?"

Yeah, who kneweth? Millions so far. Good hunch.

Anyhow, Click is a dumb movie- but the take home lesson was a good one. Made me re-eVALUEate what kind of treasure I am gathering. The simplest way to create eternal value on a daily basis is to lay up the truth through the scriptures and share it with others. Killing bugs? Not so much.

Escape!

On NPR today I heard something that got me thinking. Woody Allen explained how film was always an escape for him as a boy and how that escape developed into filmmaking in adulthood. He described the joy and magic of being in a bar scene compared to the dull reality of actually going to a bar. After completing projects he wants to get right into another so that he can escape. (I would too if I lived in New York City!) Listen to the interview if you want.  Woody Allen on NPR

I agree with Allen- the world is a dull and dreary place. It seems all of us want to escape it at times (or maybe all of the time) and we all have different hatches to get out. The tired old saying comes to mind, "You can tell what kind of person someone is by what they do in their free time." With the aforementioned thought in mind, I would change that statement to say; You can tell what kind of person someone is by their escape. Woody is obviously an entertainer at heart. If your escape is watching football and playing video games you are probably a true competitor. If you love to shop for clothes and clean you may be a perfectionist. You can do your own escape palm reading.

Some escapes produce meaningful results, others can be wasteful. We can morph our escapes to produce whatever we want most. Playing video games isn't going to produce much, but participating in a softball league will get you friends and in shape. It is important that we recognize the roots of our escapes and if we feel a need to modify them into more productive activity, make sure that we fulfill our personal needs that the current escape provides. This is the best way to kick bad habits and incorporate new ones. You have to fill the hole with a similar shaped filling for it to stick. 

So listening to Woody talk about how his escape morphed from watching movies as a child to making them as an adult made me wonder if I could modify some of my escapes into activities that would create more beneficial outputs. I think we all can. Happy New Year and may all our resolutions and goals come to fruition and make us and the world a better place, if only a little.

What are your escapes? Productive or not?

Purpose of Blogs, Purpose of All?

What is the point of blogs anyways? I thought it was to make an entry that is somewhat thought provoking and people read it and post comments expressing their opinion on the post. So let me know what you think a blog is for.

As far as I've seen, my friends who have gotten married seem to graduate from myspace and facebook into the world of blogging. They post their wedding shots and pictures of their babies. Its like an online photo album. Or families will put up their trips and showcase whatever it is they are doing. I look at blogs like that and its all kind of the same. Like they borrowed the same photos doing the same activities and pasted their heads in. I hope this blog is more than a photo album.

Does anyone really do anything original in life, I wonder? We just take turns doing the same things. Go on vacations visiting the same sights. What is unique about your trip to France or Thailand or Hawaii? The best part of life isn't the things we have or do. Even ideas are hardly unique if you believe that all truth comes from God. We just recycle the same stuff in different words. "Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun." (Bible, Eccl. 2:11) We are such a neophiliatic society, always looking for the next new thing. Like the Ecclesiastic I believe there is nothing new under the sun. So again I ask- what is the point of a blog? Is anything truly unique?

I think uniqueness exists. People are unique inherently. Whether you try or not you will be wholly singular. There is an inherent combination of qualities and attributes that only you have. On top of that your combined experiences will develop you and be unique to you. So the most interesting, unique thing out there is a person. People never get old. I will never fully understand others, especially women! Always new things with friends and family. Our relationships in families, groups, societies, nations, etc. will always be new and interesting. In serving others and getting involved with them I find the greatest satisfaction and fulfillment in this life. So I hope in some way this blog can help others and express my uniqueness and help me understand yours. Or at least satisfy your craving for something new every once in a while.

I'm even bored with surfing these days.

Introduction

Hey! I'm Ryan. Welcome to my blog! Hope you enjoy the posts and make some comments and come back often.