There’s a surfer I know a little too well called Pride, he goes by the nickname Ego. Ego has an attitude that says he’s more valuable than you because he rides waves better than you. This is simply his opinion of course. But he is so loud and spreads his opinion so strongly that most agree with him. Ego won’t talk to you unless you are almost as good as him. He will paddle around you and ignore you are there. Then Ego will simply take whatever wave he wants, he won’t feel bad about this because you are worth less than him. In fact, you are simply worthless. Ego despises anyone that’s different from him. If you ride any different type of board, or if you are younger or older, Ego will either ignore you completely or he will tell you that you shouldn’t be surfing in his area. His area, by the way, is wherever he wants it to be. If Ego doesn’t surf as well as someone else, Ego won’t talk to them either, because if Ego was them, he wouldn’t want to be talked to by someone like him. He knows what it is to have people below him on the scale. For Ego, he feels good if there are more people below him than above him on any given surf, but most of all, Ego likes to feel like number one.
I know another surfing friend called Humility. Humble for short. He has discovered an amazing secret that he will share with you if you really want to know. When you surf with Humble, he likes to share waves with you and he will even hoot you onto waves that he could have caught. Humble seems to laugh a lot in the line up. He smiles especially when he sees others having fun. Humble will enjoy talking to anyone who is willing to chat, whether they are beginning to surf or seasoned professionals. Humble values people the same, regardless of what they ride, or their ability. This is part of his secret. He likes to welcome and involve others in the waves that he is surfing. For Humble, each wave is a gift from above and He loves to watch others receive as much or more than he does. Humble loves to make others feel like number one.
I wish that I could say that I surf mostly with my mate Humble, but too often I find myself in the line up with Ego. It’s not that I like surfing with Ego, it’s just that he seems to turn up whenever I’m not with Humble.
Written by Jono Bailey
Reflections from the Lineup