Surfing is a territorial activity that often triggers irrational behaviors. Let's take a look at the meaning of spiritual, home, and local surf spots.
Localism is a philosophical concept that is always present in the minds and actions of those who engage in surfing.
The surf industry continues to picture surfers and their dreams and adventures as something idyllic, ethereal, graceful, and untouchable.
But the horrible truth is somehow different, cynical, and morally ambiguous. Surfers are greedy, voracious, and insatiable and find it hard to share their treasures with their significant others.
It's not a matter of education or learning and assimilating moral values. It's in our nature.
We tend to be polite, but we have our days, so lineups rarely are monasteries where compassion and tolerance prevail all the time.
We've all had our fair share of misunderstandings in the waves.
The snaking, the priority, and the wave-hogging moments will, sooner or later, hit our structural principles, and we become sinners like everybody else.
One of the most exciting things about surfing is that it's intrinsically mobile.
Surfers search and chase waves like predators follow their prey. We rarely live and surf in the same place.
Hence, the discussion about spiritual, home, and local breaks.
All in the Mind
The spiritual surf break is the place where it all starts.
The spot where we caught our first wave, the peak that pumped that unforgettable ride.
A spiritual surf spot usually stands in our memory as the venue where we first stood on a surfboard.
But, because our lives are constantly changing, we are often forced to move to a different city.
A professional career or a new family can send our surfboards to new garages thousands of miles away from our spiritual break.
The home surf break relates to the spot where you usually surf, the place where your face is easily recognized and you feel welcome, safe, and relaxed.
Some surfers will live and surf where everything started for them, so their spiritual and home breaks are the same.
Then there's the local surf break concept, a not-so-abstract notion that translates to the surf spots close to us and that we routinely visit depending on the swell and wind conditions.
From a logical point of view, and because we live in the present, it's essential to remember that it's not about where you're from - it's about where you surf.
If we demand respect in the lineup, we must act accordingly, even when the temptation arrives and the next wave looks like the last one in the universe.