It’s March 12th 2026 in Montauk, New York; and it’s snowing again. For most people, this is a reason to plummet into another depression. For me, it’s another opportunity for integration, reflection and preparation. A lot like a lull period when you know a big swell is coming. Get grounded. Get Ready.
When it became clear to me in December that a long winter at home was what my soul needed, I didn’t know that it was going to be the coldest winter in the last decade. Apparently, my soul thought I needed to get back a little grit after all the warm winters we’ve been experiencing.
Aside from the weather, the sociopolitical climate of earth has been sending daily tsunamis through the minds and lives of people locally and globally. And despite the allure of tropical escapism, there has been an unlikely salvation in this extended staycation of mine.
The cold scares the masses away from Montauk and, in the quiet of our small town, we can hear inspiration whispering through the whipping wind. The cold clears the air and we can see the waves of change building on the horizon.
Beyond the poetry of the scenery in Montauk there is the practicality of our reality. We see that systems are shifting and it’s through building community sovereignty that we have a real chance of being free.
That sovereignty is built upon the reciprocal relationships of everyone within the community and it is founded upon trust. Trust is built simply, slowly, and steadily.
This extended staycation put me back into coordination with the core of the local crew. Slow season is when we build our connections and make our course corrections. When we build our real relationships outside of idle worships and worrying about active war ships. As Destiny would have it, the coldest run of the whole winter was when we had the best waves and when we were all brought together.
The Snow, 18 inches. The swell, 4-6 feet. The temperature, -15. The crowd, technically 0, with maybe 10 people in the town willing to surf.
We find each other, not with phones, but through that mystical divinely aligned delivery system that puts old friends on a cliff at just the right time when the world is freezing and the waves are firing.
James Katsipis is a brilliant photographer, videographer and artist and he is an old friend who is responsible for some of the best surf shots of my life. We reconnected during the run of frozen fire and, as always, he came up with photos that encapsulate the essence of the experience.
While many people traveled to exotic locales this winter, I got to be present for an iconic run of surf that felt like an explorer’s expedition in our own home town. I got to connect with the people and with the place itself. I experienced the unlikely salvation of rekindling my own frothing fire out of the ice flows of the frozen winter waves.
In a world that is being divided and driven insane by a sick separation from every natural element of creation, it is this connection that is our salvation. Being in a location you love long enough to lay down a lasting human connection instead of just jumping onto the next flight connection.
Surfing teaches life lessons and this season’s sessions spoke clearly to me: it is meaningful human connection that may be the most personal, and most profound of the course corrections we can each make. It is time engrained in community that creates the trust necessary for there to be a balance between reciprocity and sovereignty.
The unpopular truth is that this is usually accomplished through being grounded in a particular place. It’s not traveling that is the problem but, following the trends of corporate tourism which lead to exploitation, extraction and distraction.
We each have places that call to us and people who feel like home to us. We have to hone in on those people and places as our true cornerstone communities. Because as the Earth's energy continues to rise in intensity, it’s those of us that stay consciously connected who will ultimately have the ability to be both grounded, and free.
As the weather turns and the waves of change make their way across the world, ask yourself: Have you taken the time for reflection, integration and preparation?
Have you been connecting with the peoples and places of your consciously correct corner of creation?
If it’s a no, your expedition just might be another exploitation vacation. But, if so, you can experience a staycation salvation anywhere you go.
