And don’t worry, just because I devoted much of last week’s column to Blakey Johnson’s pursuit of awesomeness, and here I go again like some kind of new age wellness wally, I haven’t had a life-changing vision (although the super moon was pretty good, wasn’t it?) or anything like that.
It’s just that a few days ago I stumbled on yet another surf-based search for happiness, making it a quartet of such projects which have made it onto my radar in recent weeks. This one is a documentary called The Definition of Happiness, produced, directed and starring Sydney Northern Beaches photographer, filmmaker and surfer Tim Elwin.
After seeing Tim interviewed on the ABC, I did some research and the first thing I discovered was that another documentary of the exact same name, albeit a short rather than a feature, and covering pretty much the same territory, was released in the US just over a decade ago. Okay, this one better be good.
It is. Tim describes himself as “a privileged middle-aged white guy”, but he’s been through the mill and knows better than most that the pursuit of happiness can sometimes lead you down a rabbit hole of depression and anxiety, unless you understand the key elements of what happiness means to you, and you know how to strip away all the mental bling and focus on what really matters.
Tim suffered a near-fatal motorcycle accident in 2018, through no fault of his own, apparently, shockingly smashing his leg, hip and pelvis in a T-bone collision with a ute, resulting in permanent mobility issues. I don’t know about the bike, but he got back on the board surprisingly quickly, crediting the healing power of the ocean for the speed of his recovery.
In 2020 he made a short film called Distressed, shooting incredible footage of fire on the water as the sun rises at Manly, accompanied by his own powerful monologue: “For the first time in my life something had happened to me that I didn’t do, it was out of my control, and it didn’t just affect me, it changed the way my family would live, the way my children would grow up … But I only had two choices, I could give up … or show my kids that no matter how hard you get knocked down, get up and be stronger.”
A few years on, and following many successful photographic exhibitions in support of inspirational art for recovery wards in hospitals, Tim is back in his happy place, in the ocean every day and wanting to know why that simple pleasure brings him so much joy. In The Definition of Happiness, he seeks answers from experts like psychologist Professor Gabriele Oettingen who developed the WOOP goal-setting program, and the late Dr Wallace J Nichols, author of the brilliant Blue Mind, which explains how the ocean connects us to ourselves. He also interviews ordinary people who, like him, have found true happiness in the face of suffering.
Definition is earnest in parts but it’s also honest, funny, beautifully shot and surprisingly simple in its core takeaway message, which is that true happiness is to be found within yourself and the joy you find in your life, rather than the pursuit of material success and external validation. Wise ideas. You can stream it on Apple TV or find it at urbanripples.com where you’ll learn more about Tim’s projects.
In a different, but in some ways similar vein, Noosa’s Ross Phillips, a deep thinker as well as a deep tube rider, is finally about to publish his long-awaited book Why We Surf, with considerable assistance from Tommy Alexander. This project had its beginnings way back pre-Covid when I edited the TropicSurf Annual for him. Inspired by his reading of the great essayist Pico Iyer (Why We Travel), for our 2019 edition Ross penned a thoughtful essay on why he surfed, concluding that when he surfs, it’s for type 2 fun, which is to say it’s not necessarily fun while you’re doing it, but it’s fun when you’re done, as the adrenaline rush settles down. This one essay provoked such interest that we devoted the entire 2020 annual to the subject, getting takes from surfers, philosophers and writers from around the world.
Now it’s a book and I, for one, can’t wait to read it. Due for publication late summer.
And finally, it’s been a great privilege over recent weeks to be working with my old mate, the inspirational 1977 world surf champ Shaun Tomson, on a project to take his Surfer’s Code to a massive global market. It’s nearly half a century since Shaun first told us that “time stands still when you’re in the tube”, and he’s still making that metaphysical link, over the past 20 years or so directing his message at people struggling with the peaks and troughs of life.
Can’t say more about it at this point, but what a buzz to be surrounded by such creativity. Which reminds me, still a few tickets left for Blakey’s Swellbeing launch at Sunshine Surfie 30 October, call Annie’s Books for info: 5448 2053.
