Surfing Ruined My Life

First off I want to let all the haters know up front I am not going ignore the Eric Clapton version, the original.  It will be posted at the end of the this blog.  Clapton is the man at the guitar.  I am a hip/hop guy and this version just really moves me, both physically and emotionally.  I mean seriously I can bust a foul move to this groove, plus M.J. gets down on the track and she is a full on diva.

More then anything I wanted to jot down a little bit about what this song means to me and the whole idea of actually changing the world.  I used to believe that it was impossible for one person to change the world and as a result always just passed the buck on to the next person. “I am just one man and the world is fucked anyway so who gives a shit”.  This was my mantra for the longest time.  I feel a bit different now.

I believe that we can all change the world individually, one person at a time, by showing our fellow man the same courtesy we ourselves would like to be shown.  “Do onto others as you would yourself”.  I spent way too many years being angry and miserable.  Now I try and smile as much as possible, don’t get me wrong its really hard to do, but “a smile can defeat a frown”.  I really do believe that.

Staying positive is important as well.  I just about spent the last thirty years thinking in the negative and you know what, when you give off those vibes you get them right back.  I have lived a blessed and beautiful life from day one.  Instead of dwelling on that and what I had, I spent the majority of my time always wanting more.   At the end of the day all it did was frustrate the hell out of me and make everyone around me miserable.

These days I make the most out of everything.  I try and appreciate the small things, like a remarkable sunset or the spectacular full moon we have gotten to enjoy the last few nights.  I give everyone around me the benefit of the doubt even if it comes around to bite me in the ass.  I try and listen to what others have to say and actually consider their point of view instead of my usual dismissal and insulting retorts.

All this sounds rather obvious, but think how rarely we consider these things in our busy, consumer-centric, generic society.  We are taught from day one that it is a kill or be killed world out there instead of live and let live.  All I am saying is that each and every one of us counts towards the greater good of our world.  Even if it is as small as holding the door for someone who has his hands full of packages or giving up your seat on the bus for an old lady.  Its those small kindnesses that become infectious and maybe those people whom you bestowed your kindness on will show it to the next person.

I am not saying I’m perfect.  I still regress every so often and do a thing or two I am not proud of.  It is our mistakes that make us human.  Perfection is boring.  As long as we learn from our misgivings then I feel it was not in vain.  I briefly wrote it in yesterday’s blog Your A Fucking Idiot, but So Am I that we if expect nothing but the very best in us then we can not go wrong.  I think that when we do that other people around us can feel that motivation and will strive for their personal best as well.  I know it works that way for me.

All I am trying to say is that I think I have been changing the world just a little bit one person at a time for a while now and have just never realized it.  It may have been adverse or positive. These days I am only shooting for the latter.  If we all put our efforts in a positive matter then just maybe we can turn shit around before we really are fucked.  That is just my two cents and probably just about all its worth as well.  I hope you enjoyed the song even if I just put you through 800 words of complete gibberish.  Below is the Eric Clapton version.