So many wrong turns, finally I went right.

Some moments define us, some moments break us, some moments make us stronger, some moments can bring us to our knees feeling grateful, some moments will build character and some moments help us to strengthen our consistency.

What builds a life full of trust for yourself and others? Consistency. If you are consistent with your self, your daily actions and with others you will know what you can and can’t provide for others.

And the same goes for the people you surround your self with. Are they consistent? If they are not consistent with themselves or in their daily actions they will not be able to be consistent to you or for you in your relationship. If you do not love yourself there is no way you can love and provide for others. The work begins with the self and unlike a drop of water which loses its identity when it joins the ocean, we do not lose our being in the society in which we live. Life is independent. We are born not for the development of the society alone, but for the development of self. Do things that will bring you to your higher self so you may find your life purpose.

As I bobbed on my surfboard waiting for a set, I admired the beauty of my favorite surf spot. Today’s crystal clear water allowed me to see the ripples in the sand below my surfboard and this impression reminded me of a yogic term called samskara.

As the tides change, just as daily occurrences in our lives can, so do these ripples in the sand. We are born with a karmic inheritance of mental and emotional patterns—known as samskaras—through which we cycle over and over again during our lives as they play out like a movie script between different characters and scenes.

Samskaras are individual influences, impressions, actions and ideas; collectively, our samskaras make up our conditioning and consciousness. Repeating samskaras reinforces them, this is the consistency I’m referring to. Once you have created a groove (samskara) it can be difficult to resist and just as the ocean creates these grooves / sand bars in the ocean, this is what helps to create a wave as the tide comes in. A wave is energy and the samskara helps direct this energy in a positive or negative way.

In a surfer’s world, some waves are good and some waves are bad. The bad waves can have life threatening consequences if you paddle for them just as samskaras can also have a negative consequence in our decisions such as in the self-lacerating mental patterns that underlie low self-esteem and self-destructive relationships. Negative samskaras are what hinder positive evolution and consciousness. Positive selfless acts, meditation, yoga, being consistent in your life and living your purpose can help smooth out the ripples in the sand, aka the samskara bringing you closer to contentment; santosha.

October is the rainiest month in Nicaragua so today is a blessing, not a cloud in sight as the reflection from the hot bright sun danced off the surface of the ocean I was in Mother Nature’s true spot light.The hills lush with green vegetation is a reminder that if you consistently nourish your soul and make matters of the spirit part of your every day life the negative patters of your samskara will start to diminish.

Feeling extremely grateful for this moment even though it was a crowded day in the water, my thoughts dissipated and my eyes glanced to the horizon spotting a sparkling wave approaching in the distance. I started to paddle. Now, sandwiched between two local rippers, I found myself together in the peak with one of the other surfers. The peak is the closest point to where the wave will start to break giving that surfer the priority.

Normally I would back off and give the wave to the local but something in this moment didn’t allow for that today. After all, I’m a local now too. The guy sharing the peak with me yelled over me to his friend in Spanish to take the wave which meant his friend would be technically dropping in on me, this fueled my ego. Sometimes you need ego for survival but it is knowing when you need it and when not to use it, and without a second thought I went for it, taking the wave and owning it as they both backed off. Thankfully I managed to ride that sucker all the way. Yesssss! A defining moment representative of my consistency and progress in Nicaragua.

In life there will always be people right by your side ready to challenge your consistency which can make you question your confidence in your own self. You can either take control of your every day actions and own it, learn to carry the universe or be crushed by it.

What ever you choose, just be consistent. In order to find your life purpose one must be willing to work on themselves and learn how to be consistent in their own life before they can be consistent in others. Do you keep making the same mistakes or keep repeating the same negative patterns? Do the self work and observe your own patters and then make a mental note to change the negative pattern to a healthier positive consistent pattern.

Be consistent in your search if you seek something better for your life. If you want to be a surfer, surf consistently. If you want to live a healthy life then be consistent in your every day choices that defines health. If you make a mistake, be consistent in your compassion for yourself and also for others.

Especially, be consistent with loving yourself.