I see what you did there, 
I'm meant to take three words and say what they mean to me, so I'm going to take three words that I probably haven't written about before just to challenge myself. The first one has to be boobs.
Besides, I get to use that photo of me from fifteen years ago with giant button squash, when I was younger and thinner and more tanned.
Boobs
All my life, I've had unusually large breasts. Whilst some people would give anything to rectify the small breast 'issue', I never wanted these lumps of flesh that called attention away from my face, that were expensive to hoik into over shoulder boulder holders that were never on discount, and often uncomfortable. If I was to live another life, I definitely don't want them at all. In fact, they've been so annoying that should I answer the other weekend question about three lives, it'd look something like this:
Life 1: Deal with Boobs
Life 2: Have a better life with no boobs
Life 3: Have another great life with no boobs.
I've jokingly given them away to every woman who said they'd kill to have bigger ones. I've cried that I'd do anything for a breast reduction, but haven't wanted to pay for it. And now I'm older, I'm still putting up with them. Sure, I've come to terms with them, but I don't love them. Contrarily to what everyone believes, they really aren't fun. There's been times people have had fun with them and I can concede they spiced things up a bit, but I still don't think that's been a big benefit.
So we can joke about boobs, but spare a thought for those that find them a pain in the ass - or the chest, as it were. It was only when I discovered decent marathon bras that I've felt a bit more comfortable doing sport in them. And I'll never run - I joke I'd get a black eye, but they're just not comfortable. In another life, I want to run. It strikes me as a good thing to be able to do.
So yeah, fuck you boobs. I'm over you.
REVENGE
If you missed my postabout getting a surfing injury on Friday that gave me a nasty fin cut and six stitches, you can catch that here. Bottom line is that it wasn't my fault - the guy that ran over me chose to run over me and leave me floundering and bleeding in the water. Everyone that I've told this story to wishes some kind of karmic revenge, or just voiced a desire to chase him off the Surf Coast and maybe punch him in the face. It's kinda sweet. It's nice that people care about me enough to swear revenge and imagine him recieving his karma - a shark bite? a fin cut to the face? A car accident? What does karma actually mean?
What if he's already living out his karma, and that made him the way he is? I'm kinda proud of myself that I am choosing not to focus on revenge. It's pointless. It only hurts me. It's not that I'm not kinda annoyed at the guy, but I just don't need that negativity in my life, as they say. If karma truly exists, then the universe will sort it out. It's not for me to chase him down or to spend the next few weeks chewing it over and wishing he would die.
I'm focussing on the good stuff, like the amazing surfer girls that helped me out of the water, bandaged me up, and took me to hospital, then texted to see if I was okay.
I don't think it's good for us to focus on the worst of humanity, when people are capable of being amazing. Every single disaster, there's always hero stories. We forget that when we focus on revenge.
Revenge is just a really base human response to a situation. It's not a measured, considered, compassionate reaction - much better reactions that serve me better, always.
COURTESY
We need to be nice to each other. The world is spinning so fast that we can be more focussed on ourselves than others, and then we get upset when people are assholes to us.
Courtesy has old fashioned roots. It was about being polite and a polished member of society. Sometimes it's just platitudes that make us see us people in a good light - hey, he knows his p's and q's, or she held the door open to me. But all that is nothing if you aren't showing respectfulness and consideration when it really counts.
Clearly, I'm thinking about courtesy because of what happened out in the surf, causing me to get injured. Our coast is getting so overcrowded these days that the line up is also crowded, and this can be dangerous. But what I've noticed is a certain courtesy in the water out of necessity. There's a set of social rules out there to keep people safe and to make sure everyone's having a good time. The best surfs are when everyone's being courteous. It might be giving some one a wave when you've already had ten. It might be encouraging a beginner to paddle hard or be in the right spot to take off, giving tips or checking in on some one when they've had a wipe out. It might be just saying hello to someone else out there instead of ignoring them.
There's always assholes ruining it for the rest of us. It's sad. The world could a better place if we all practiced being better - kinder, more mindful, respectful, compassionate.
And I know I sure as hell woudn't have stitches in my arm if that guy had shown a bit of courtesy instead of being focussed on himself.
Now that I've got to the end of the post, you might realise I haven't given you boobs in the way you wanted to have boobs. Sorry.
With Love,
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