LESSONS FROM THE OCEAN

I had the fortune to be born in front of the sea, in a city that kisses the ocean from high, rugged cliffs and stands as a relentless wall that resists the waves pounding it every day.

Yet how could I have known, at that time, that this act of providence would mark the rest of my life, take me to places I could never have imagined, and teach me the lessons I would learn from the sea?

I will never forget the first time I touched the ocean. I was probably two or three years old. Holding my mother’s hand, I walked with her on the warm sand until my tiny feet finally touched the cold, salty water. One of those moments that may last only a couple of minutes, yet whose memory lasts a lifetime.

When I felt the ocean for the first time, something in me changed forever. From the day I discovered the sea with my mother, all I wanted was to keep walking until I could reach the horizon. Even after a lifetime, I still dream of doing so, when the time finally comes to melt into the ocean for the last time. It was a feeling so unique and so real that, somehow, it touched my heart and soul forever.

Later in life, while I was still a child, I would stand on the balcony of my bedroom just to watch dozens of dolphins riding the waves. At that time, surfing was just beginning, and only a few people who had come from Hawaii would venture into the sea to ride the waves. Yet I knew that I wanted to be one of them.

So, at the age of seven, my father bought me my first surfboard. The next day I went to the sea and caught my first wave.

It was more than magical.

It was the discovery of what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

From that day on, I no longer saw the sea as my playground, but as the best friend I could ever have.

I loved to swim in the open ocean, snorkel to discover what lay beneath its surface, and later in life, become a diver. I started travelling around the world, always searching for the perfect wave, and without knowing it, I met wise people from different lands and cultures who opened my mind and sometimes challenged the beliefs I was born into. For nobody owns the whole truth.

I swam and surfed with whales and dolphins, turtles and manta rays, sharks, and schools of fish so huge that they made me feel I belonged with them. And if you open your heart and are willing to learn, every creature I met, on land and in the ocean, taught me a lesson.

But the most important lesson I learned was always beneath the surface of the ocean.

The silence was so real that I finally realized how much noise there was in my life.

For the value of things lies not in how long they last, but in the intensity with which they happen. That is why there are unforgettable moments, inexplicable things, and incomparable people. Because truly feeling leaves a mark forever, helping you discover who you truly are, what the purpose of your life is, and the path you were chosen to take when you arrived in this world:

A life well lived…

I am just a human being – nothing more – who has made many mistakes. Someone who has tried to be happy, and still tries, through dreams, love, and the wisdom of the sea.

A man of some sensitivity, softened by the years – years that pass without asking permission, yet do not pass in vain.

A lover of life who clings to it all the more, knowing that one day I may not even be remembered.

A man who has erred greatly, who sought to embrace the world believing his arms were vast enough, who wanted to be both sea and sand.

A man with a steady stride who has nevertheless stumbled.

A thousand times I have risen, and a thousand times I have fallen.

And between stumbling and rising, I have always been able to keep an open mind, learning from others, from my own experiences, my own failures, from my travels, but mostly from my best friend:

The ocean.

Take risks, get out of your safety zone to discover so many truths that can only be reached if you dare to live life to the limit!

Life was never meant to be understood. It was meant to be felt.

We spend so much time trying to figure everything out, trying to fix, explain, solve, and control… but life is not a puzzle.

It’s like a wave of the ocean.

You have to let it move through you: the joy, the fear, the heartbreak, the moments that didn’t make sense until much later. I think the sadness comes when we try to hold on to what’s meant to pass. We grab the moment, the feeling, hoping to freeze it in time. But everything you’ve ever loved or owned was borrowed, and the beauty of it was never in the holding. I guess the value of things lies not in how long they last, but in the intensity with which they happen. That is why there are unforgettable moments, inexplicable things, and incomparable people.

Because truly feeling leaves a mark forever.

Look deeply into Nature, and you will understand everything better.

Trees do not rush.

Flowers open without asking permission.

A river does not hesitate on its path.

Even every wave is different, and ends in the heart of those who want to listen.

Everything simply is.

And truth dwells in its silence.

For I have learned that:

No matter how many storms the ocean has faced…

No matter how much we humans have changed it…

The ocean will never stop sending waves to the shore.

Sergio Bambarén