When You Stop Smiling, It's All Over

by John Beausang, Publisher of Distressed Mullet

When paddling out, we thank Rushmore, our rock jetty or Cow, our mile buoy, and show gratitude. We thank the ocean and waves, the sky and sunrise, for letting us be out here. No matter how hard we're training, we always stop to say thanks. With a nod to the rocks or buoy we say:

Purity of my thought. Purity of my focus. Purity of my words. Purity of my heart.

I have to keep these in mind all the time because my monkey mind is a 1200 gorilla at times. And when any one of those gets out of whack, the rest pile on.

It's hard to focus on making each experience as good as it can be, but why else are we out here? Why are we alive if not to live. And by saying the things that reinforce those thoughts, keeping our focus on our goals and purpose, and remembering that we’re out here because we love being out here, we are alive. Paddling is an honor and a gift. Any day above ground is a good day. And any day on the water is an even better day.

To everyone out paddling in races, for training or for fun, enjoy every second. Take a second to take it all in, to look around, to be kind to yourself, to remember those we've lost, celebrate those still in our lives, and to breathe.

We are people of the water and we are doing exactly what we were born to do.