Page 153 - THE ENDLESS WAVE | Skateboarding, Death & Spirituality

THE ENDLESS WAVE | PART TWO
of tension and the kind of emotion that you are expressing. They might not be fellow skateboarders, but they are your fellow human beings!
The mark of victory in these circumstances is not over who wins and who gets their way, but rather who is able to maintain their emotional composure. The moment someone else frustrates you is the moment that you give your power away because you are allowing the emotion of the experience to consume and control you. In order to maintain your high vibration of compassion, which then contributes to experiences of continued joy and elation afterwards, there are several factors that you can consider understanding, to keep you vibing high and rolling on afterwards in a better frame of mind.
Understand where they are coming from. A security guard or a police officer might be simply doing their job if you’re there during their official duty. A member of the public might be trying to express their concerns. Recognise that their frustration is a reflection of their own inner struggle that they are working through too. Perhaps they are used to being met with such hostility in their own emotional responses to different situations. Empathise with them and acknowledge their concerns, discuss intelligently, resist the temp- tation to swear or unleash verbal abuse at them for spoiling your fun. Wait for things to cool off and diffuse the situation. Wait and try to find a more accept- able time to return if you need to. Celebrate the fact that perhaps you tried or experienced something new with your skating. Even if you didn’t land your trick in mind, perhaps it’s a stepping stone to your building confidence for another time or another place.
It’s the thrill of all these alignments that adds to the fulfilment and the joys of skateboarding. Rising above and beyond the often limited perceptions of what others expect within the confines of an environment and finding your own way to navigate and negotiate through the world, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
Life as a skateboarder combines on board and off board experiences that can enrich one’s ability to understand and relate to people within and out- side of skateboarding itself. Love prevails above all other emotions and if
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