I'm Not a Fish!

I want get this post up while it's fresh on my mind.


I just got back from surfing. I had no meetings today nor class, nor any body really vying for my time. But I after a three hour session, I left with mixed emotions. You know like, "I finally got wet" and, "hmmm I really didn't surf all that well" and, "wow, I made some good boards" and, "my take off's were a little slow". But there were a few instances that threw a heavier dose of mixed feelings upon me. The instance: There was no regard for you as a human being out there, much less as a surfer. Now where I was, I had been warned. I was not surprised, in fact, I suspected it, which is why I'm in a surprisingly docile mood.
But this just combined with everything else that is going on around me about how people just can't seem to do the right thing. First off, I can't think of any person that reads this blog that is not doing the right thing. In fact those who I have issues with I purposely keep this blog from them. I'm not talking about you, we're cool.
But, I am not here to harp on that. I want to take this another direction. What I saw on the peoples faces in the line-up was nothing. I saw nothing. No body got upset at the obvious braking of surf etiquettes. At first I thought, "Ok, this is just how it is. It works for them." But I couldn't help notice it was 'broken'. The whole thing, 'broken' (I'll explain broken later, for now just go with it). The only people who were really getting waves were people who knew how to work the system, and work it well (The guy with the super thick board sitting super deep, Chad it was a real surfboard not a windsurf board) The rest of the people there, acted as if someone gave them a piece of foam and said go out there and stand up on this as the wave pushes you. I digress.
How it was broken: I try to not push my ideals onto this situation because I have no right to. But when I looked closer I saw the real story. I saw people 'hurt' by the system. I saw people victimized by selfishness. But!, I saw no one there to hold anybody accountable for the wrong doings, and that is what made it broken. The was no structure to the day and therefore, no one succeeded (unless you had a thick board, even he got snaked a few times).
But what I left with (the other feeling in the mixed feelings) was this unreal urge to fix it. Not so much the surf atmosphere out there, but in the lives of everyone. And, what I mean by this is, elevating those hurt by the system of 'brokenness'. By making differences in peoples lives that can't recognize why things are the way they are. Here's the cool part, I can't do it all. But you can. I have my area of 'expertise' just like you. I have friend that does a skate ministry. I couldn't do that, I seem to be incapable of relating to pre-teen and teenage skaters. But he could possibly see where the system is 'broken' and work to fix it. We all have our interests and our desires and things that we are unreal good at. And we are given the choice to do with them what we want. We can be selfish, and be in jeopardy of breaking the system or, we can work for others, and fix the system.

The first thing we have to do, is realize when, and where, and how the system is broken. The best way I know how to show you this is by giving you this video. Now it's about 20 min long, but it is a good one, funny too. It is well worth it.

Seth Godin at Gel 2006 from Gel Conference on Vimeo.

Once again there was no proofreading. I made it broken.