How Wake Surfing Brought Me Back To My Purpose
It is funny how life throws opportunities at us when we least expect them. This weekend I spent two days in Crescent Bar, WA. A place I had never heard of until four weeks ago.
Long story short, my surf friends from Georgia connected me with a veteran near my new home in Washington. So, I slid into his DMs and asked if I could surf with him. His response… "Sure, just give me $50 for gas and come play". Seemed cheap to me, so I met this random guy out on the lake one Sunday afternoon.
A New Opportunity
I'm out on his boat in the Washington sun, and he asks, "Have you heard of Wake For Warriors?" I hadn't, and I was intrigued. I spent the next 15 minutes on my phone buying swag and applying for a surf event the following month. Since I'm active duty and the events are mostly for veterans, I figured it was a long shot, but a few weeks later, I was accepted.
What I Was Expecting Vs. What I Got
I showed up expecting to watch disabled veterans surf behind a boat. What I got was so much more. I watched two incredible veterans, surrounded by a community of support, do something most people would call impossible. They were up on their board, being pulled behind the boat, jamming out to sublime.
To be honest… I have been in a funk with the military this past year. Feeling beat down, burnt out, and losing my sense of purpose. This weekend was so much more than a surf weekend. It reminded me exactly why I joined the military in the first place. To treat these guys and get them back to their lives.
Final Thoughts
Sometimes purpose finds you on a random guy's boat with strangers on a lake you'd never heard of, for the price of ⅓ tank of gas (Washington prices are no joke).
I went there to give something to these veterans, and instead they handed my purpose right back to me. That is usually how life works. When we show up for other people, we find the very thing we were looking for.
Dr. Megan Lisset Jimenez
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