Living with unrest

LAGUNA LIFE

In my deepest hour of sleep I often awake and look out my window. I

just stare out at the stars above. Again and again I have awoken in

the dark,, only to wish that someone was nearby to answer these

questions of life that continue to disturb me from my sleeping state

without warning.

I began dissecting my entire life -- as if I have formed a

questionnaire and it is now time to dig deep into the night, into

myself and find the answers I seek. I try to run and my movement

slows with every step. I have nowhere to hide. No shelter to seek but

in my writing and in my surfing where I am able to let go and cleanse

my soul, let go of the world outside. I scream inside of myself.

Louder and louder the screams become. For the shelter, I have from

the maddening world outside is only temporary.

I wonder what it all means? Last night I thought about going

surfing today or kayaking if the waves were small. I thought about

writing and what my soul would bare. And then my vision switched and

I thought about what our troops and what they were thinking

I wanted to write about something nice. But I just don’t feel that

nice at this moment, and I have a lot of reasons why. None of which

are important. With the harsh reality of Iraq and the constant

violence in the Middle East on my mind. I strap on a leash to go

surfing as our troops strap on their guns to go to war. We are lucky

to live in a place called Laguna.

Sometimes I think about what it would be like to enlist and go to

war, leaving behind this beautiful life and those who I love. I can’t

imagine.

I wanted to write about how cool I thought it was that “Sweet

Water” celebrated its 10-year anniversary with free car washes all

day, and had a barbecue for all of the workers. The event was

designed to say thank you to both customers and workers. It made me

smile.

It was nice to see people smiling, laughing and having a good

time. We need more of this. People coming together, uniting and

having an old-fashioned good time. Turn up the music and dance. Dance

for our freedom, our country and for the people you love. Dance for

today and for a better tomorrow. Dance for our troops. Dance for

world peace.

Because the day we stop dancing is the day we have lost our

freedom.

Peace.

* JAMES PRIBRAM is a Laguna Beach resident, professional surfer

and co-founder of “They Will Surf Again,” a nonprofit foundation

assisting people with spinal cord injuries. He was also a member of

the Water Quality Advisory Committee. He can be reached at

[email protected]. His Web site is

AlohaSchoolofSurfing.com.