Taking Stock of Life

Oh Heyyyy, It's me Tahnee here your Blog and Ocean Sister!

Welcome back to 2024 😊 

Firstly, thanks for your patience while it has taken me a wee bit longer than expected to bring you our monthly installment of our Monthly SoS Blog.

You see, I finished the year strong, started 2024 in an uneventful manner and then BOOM!!!! I got really unwell, really quickly with Encephalitis… However, I am smilin’, still dreaming of my next salty surf adventure with like-minded SoS lassy’s, doing my rehab exercises and brain training and have been taking things very slowly while on the road to recovery.  

It’s a great segway actually, recovery… In the context of injury and illness I recently added a new word to my vocab, Convalescence.

As a lover of words, I am thrilled to learn a new word as it often makes me think about what it means to me both literally and metaphorically. At the moment, I am in the midst of a period of convalescence, as I’m at the stage in which the body recovers from a serious illness, injury or surgery. So why am I waffling on about my new word?! hahaha, well, it made me ponder even more generally about rest and recuperation and remind myself HOW IMPORTANT IT IS!

It made me ask myself lots of questions like:

Am I getting enough quality sleep?

Am I being firm with my boundaries when I have multiple offers to socialise/volunteer/give energy to?

Am I nourishing my bod with the rights foods?

Am I caring for my own needs?

You see, it’s funny how life altering events can make you take stock of absolutely everything in your life because you’ve had a shake up or scare that’s made you think and feel differently. But why is that we often wait until something big happens, to force us to reaaaaally reflect on the simple things? (If anyone knows, please tell me hahah).

So I thought I’d use the scariest thing to ever happen to me in my life to offer you a gentle reminder to take a moment for yourselves and do what I call a mini life stocktake or pre-surf pondering if you will.

Mindset.

Instructions as follows:

1.     Grab a pen and paper or your phone, but I love the creativity that often flows with a physical pen in your hand and a blank piece of paper.

2.     Split the paper into three even sections and under the titles listed below, use each section prompts to help you evaluate where you’re currently at

(Tip: Use one or all of the prompts, whatever feels easier)

a. Shiney and Bright

List everything you’re thankful for

List the ways you take care of yourself

List the ways you take care of others (this can include fur babies, house plants and humans 😊)

List everything you’ve done that you’re proud of

List ways you contribute to your home, friend group, community

List 4-5 values that you are most aligned with (Tip: Values can feel overwhelming so I find it handy to use a list to help guide you, see here for a downloadable list Dare to Lead | List of Values - Brené Brown (brenebrown.com))

b.    Worries and Less Shiney

What concerns/what is bugging you at the moment?

What are you ashamed of?

What do you think about when you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep?

What are you afraid of?

What one relationship do you need to heal the most or maybe end?

c.     The Way Forward

What’s one thing could you easily start doing that would add up to significant progress over time?

What word, quote or short phrase inspires you to make better decisions?

What needs to change? And what can you do to bring about that change?

What can you forgive yourself or someone else for?

How can you be more compassionate towards yourself?

What do you want to commit to doing more of in the months ahead?

What do you want to commit to doing less of in the months ahead?

I hope this little activity is helpful and for those joining SoS on future retreats, feel free to use some or all of those prompts in your journals 😊

Quote of the Month.

Well, it only seemed fitting to quote one of my fave street artists and political activists- Banksy.

“If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit.”

As many of you embark on preparing for your first or second (or maybe third 😉) surf retreat, you might be hitting the pavement, the gym, the beach, the pool, the yoga studio or your very own loungeroom to get ready for the physical side of surfing. This is wicked and will ensure you maximise your chances of having the strength and stamina for the epic waves you’re going to ride!

At risk of sounding like your Mum hahaha, whether you’re pep mode or in the thick of the retreat and maybe not mastering something as quick as you’d like- make sure you take some time to rest!!! I know it’s easier to keep pushing and pushing, but sometimes, the best thing you can do is take a breather and try again after a bit of a rest- you’ll be amazed what it can do for both mind and bod!

Surf Tip.

First things first! If you’re joining us on the next Lombok Surf Retreat and have a million questions makesure you peruse Angies latest write-up titled Getting Ready For Lombok Retreats it’ll help you feel more comfortable with what to expect, cashola you should budget for, accommodation queries, what to pack, logistics etc.

Now for the surf tip….. am I stretching the surf tip too far with delving into surf fashion?! Surely not! Because I’ll be honest, this was one piece of excellent advice Angie gave me before my first SoS retreat that paid divid- rear-ends…. Cheeky cut/g-string/thong surf suits ARE ACTUALLY SO MUCH COMFIER WHEN YOU’RE OUT THERE SHREDDING! While I appreciate getting your cheeks out in public may not be preferred, bare-bum with me for a minute.

In the words of one Angelina Pallisier …"They end up there anyway…”. Ain’t that the truth! When you’re paddling, or waiting for your next set and sat on your board, your swimmers/togs/bather bottoms tend to migrate, errmm, north….. shall we say.

So, I thought I’d be brave last year and bought myself a surf suit that was cheeky/g-string style cut and let me tell you, it was actually the best because I wasn’t spending half the time in the surf pulling a wedgy out hahaha. So, here’s a few recommendations from our community of this style that may interest you

·       Ocean Flo Eco Surfsuit | Long Sleeve Rustic Boho – The Someday Co

·       Womens 1mm POP Surf Long Sleeve Cheeky Springsuit Wetsuit | Roxy (roxyaustralia.com.au)

·       Long Sleeve Surf Suit - La Isla –Kulani Kinis AU (not super cheeky)

See you next month and please please please holler if there are specific surf tips or info you would like included in the monthly blog!

Love Tahnee Xxx