Page 151 - THE ENDLESS WAVE | Skateboarding, Death & Spirituality

THE ENDLESS WAVE | PART TWO
Skateboarders and Compassion
What does it mean to be compassionate? To love and be loved? To un- derstand and welcome each and all? To be kind to one’s self and to others? To discover the possibilities of being accepting and accepted?
Skateboarding’s accessibility means that it is available to anyone and every- one, regardless of the usual factors that people base their friendships on, such as age, gender, sexual preference, social status, level employment, culture, recreational preferences outside of Skateboarding and so on. Skateboarding has an appeal that reaches out to many people from all different walks of life.
Idealistically, compassion is taught about in educational institutes and reli- gions, the only way to verify the truth of these teachings is through applica- tion. I think that Skateboarding has its way of teaching this in a very clear and concise way. Skateboarding teaches these lessons of understanding and ac- ceptance very effectively through the very nature of the people that are ex- perienced, both the desired and undesired.
The desirable people in your range of experiences consist of the people that you want around, such as your fellow skateboarders, your friends. It’s easy to accept and understand your friends through your shared experiences and being able to relate to some elements of the journey to learn and progress in skateboarding. Building bonds with the people that you hang around and
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