Sublime. Photo: Chuck Schmid/Surf-Shot.com
In art, the sublime acts as a way to transcend the normal world and gain an alternative viewpoint. This term is applied to images that keep the viewer from being grounded. In many ways the sublime can be applied to surfing and its cousin, paddle boarding.
Both surfing and paddle boarding activate the entire body and all of its senses. Thinking about paddle boarding, the image of a tranquil person gently gliding across calm water comes to mind. While paddle racing is a form of paddle boarding that allows the sport to be as active as surfing, recreational paddle boarding provides a great opportunity to look around and slowly take in the world from the water.
I liken casual paddle boarding to yoga, where each muscle is subtly called upon, strengthened and elongated in unassuming yet powerful motions.
Given their differences in motion and intention, surfing and paddle boarding present contrasting but similar views of the surrounding environment.
As surfers paddle out they move into open space, sometimes obstructed by the rippling water that moves against them. They move on ward into an expanse of water in the midst of an environment that most humans do not traverse on a normal basis. Driven forward by personal strength and perseverance, paddling occurs at one’s own pace. Throughout the process of surfing, surfers are detached from the earth. The ground humans were built to walk on and born on to has been removed and replaced by a fluid substance that causes surfers to bobble in its unstable quality. The shoreline rises and falls as surfers await a wave. Standing on the ground fails to provide the same ever-changing scene that gives a chance to reconsider what was just viewed or to catch sight of a new surprise. Once riding a wave, the shore rushes forward at an unprecedented speed that is largely dictated by a natural element. Riding on a wave provides a chance to look at the beach atmosphere and approaching shoreline in a way unique from running across the sand.
Paddle boarding, possibly even more so, offers an astounding new way to gaze upon land bound life. Unlike surfing, there is less change or required change in speed. Although many professional paddle boarders will vouch for the cardiovascular intensity of paddle boarding, is can be taken at a leisurely pace.
During the summer I try to paddle board every afternoon after leaving work or babysitting. It is my time to detach from the regular constraints of the physical world and commitments and expectations that govern the day.
Paddle boarding and surfing are breaks from reality.
No matter how many times I have paddled around Little Harbor in Cohasset, MA, a secluded body of seawater doted with lobster parts and large rocks, sectioned off from the rest of the Atlantic by a bridge and outlet, I always pause and take in the view. I am continuously amazed by the world that surrounds me and the pleasant isolation I assume. Floating on the water I look back at the land and no one knows I am there.
Standing atop the water is an out of body experience. You rise above reality and standard conventions, being able to gaze at the world from the middle of the water, an entity that we–by all natural rules–are not supposed to use as a platform from which to view the world. We are detached and floating. While emerging in a more humble and gentle way than the thrill felt riding speedily along a wave, great sensation fills the body and mind.
As this new perspective uncovers a multitude of new angles and sights, how can our senses not be somewhat overwhelmed? However, as long as you choose to be out on water, you are constantly looking, seeing and perceiving. Thus, our emotions are seeping out at a consistent rate, mediated by each glimpse we receive.
Since standing and floating on the water removes us from the ground, like glancing into a sublime image, surfing and paddle boarding are sublime experiences. They are overwhelming, thrilling and mysterious in the best and most fulfilling ways. From the time we are born, earth puts restrictions on us. These restrictions are not necessarily bad, just unavoidable scientific facts. Still, surfing and paddle boarding provide opportunities break away and reevaluation and appreciate life on earth.
Out on the water we are freed from the general limits of terrestrial vantage points whish is an enchanting and mysterious gift. A sublime experience.
