Page 156 - THE ENDLESS WAVE | Skateboarding, Death & Spirituality

THE ENDLESS WAVE | PART TWO
from those who came before you and you become inspiration for those after you. The skateboard experience is such a visual journey and so the represen- tation of it found in artifacts such as photos and videos play such an impor- tant role in helping to connect skateboarders across time and space.
I feel like this is where one connects with the real essence of skateboarding. When they pay their respects to the generations past, present and future, ex- perience and enjoy the process of learning, expressing and sharing, in the spirit of non-competitive, non-judgmental kinds of ways. Your Heart and Soul goes into skateboarding when it is done with love and respect and there’s something for everyone. As you roll further along on this path, skateboarding opens you up to other people and other interests, yet the mindset that you can experience from it stays with you for life.
This then leads us into the meditative aspects of skateboarding, which ex- ists during the times when you become so focussed that you enter a tran- scended state of being. You go beyond your limitations, doubts and fears. You might accomplish something that you look at differently when you are off your Skateboard. You know that feeling of looking at a spot or reviewing a photo or footage after you’ve skated it, thinking like, “wow, how did that actually happen?”
I know that a lot of skateboarders can relate to the feeling and process of learn- ing and trying a trick and then being astounded by the results afterwards. The reward isn’t just in the result, but also in the emotional connection and state of being that comes from it.
Typically, there are a lot of questions and a lot of factors to consider when skateboarding. For instance:
• What do your feet need to do?
• How should you position your body and body weight?
• What’s happening in your surroundings?
• Are there other Skaters to look out for?
• What speed do I need to approach at?
• Are there any cracks? Are there oncoming pedestrians or traffic?
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