Just Stand Up

The more time I spend in the water on my surf board, the more I see parallels in life. There are so many lessons that help me in daily living. Yesterday I paddled out. The surf wasn't that good and it was breaking all over the place. The first few waves I caught almost took me by surprise and I didn't pop-up as quickly as usual. I heard all those people that helped me learn how to surf say "just stand up". "When you feel the wave catch you, just stand up".

When you are a new surfer, you're not sure if the wave has caught you. You are not sure if you are balanced. You wait too long to pop-up. You have to overcome that feeling to make sure it's all "ok." I would ask "How do I know when?" And they say "Just stand up."

Women especially feel that they have to make it all "ok". We put our needs last. We don't stand up for what we think is right in order to keep the peace. Then I realized I was surfing on Nelson Mandela's birthday. And it rang in my head......

Just Stand Up.