Seen the photos earlier in the thread, awesome, I must say that for someone who has gone through the mill you look extraordinarily happy in all your videos and photos
When you go through any personal hardship especially if over an extended duration it refocuses to you what really matters, all that life i wasted with such amazing physical ability and potential i took it for granted, i never thought i was taking it for granted until something whipped the rug out from under me and took it away, now every chance that i can focus enough i dig through the mind mess and try and grab life with my teeth and hang on like a pitbull, those pictures also show me actually catching my very ever wave on my first lesson after 2 hours of falling off a lot with zero style or grace so those smiles are well earned
walking a wave .... i have yet to find the words worthy ... wish i'd been doing it since i was 12, i could easily have as i've lived 12 mile from the ocean i am doing it in now for most of my life, so no point me blubbing about the what ifs and could have beens (done enough of that over the last decade) and make some things happen, 90% of the time my plans fall apart spectacularly but i just keep plodding on and plotting along and every now and then i pull something off, so much so people who don't know the full story could think i live the life of an adventurer.
I got a comment last week on a Youtube video that lifted my soul, lad commented positive about me smiling and going for it, he'd only just found my channel and watched a single vid, in the vid i am ear to ear smiles and he said how he wished he could with health and stuff in the way, i PM'd him and sent him links to my videos of me struggling to repair my body and mind and explained about how during the edit i choose what you see and i leave all the grimacing and swear words on the cutting room floor, he watched a couple of my little vids and said it lifted him and helped him motivate to think less defeatist about his own ability to fight through his pain for progress, had tears of joy running down my face, he is in his late 20's bad health, piled weight on and is fighting to not die from weight related nonsense in his early 30's if he keeps going as he is, now we keep in touch, never dreamed sharing my stuff would have that effect on anybody, i like to think there are more out there who just don't comment but are getting the same lift.