My first, unwrinkled brain reaction: OMG, that man is on fire. Like, flames are coming out of his body on fire. And he’s surfing! And doing things that aren’t get these flames that are coming out of my body off my body. I don’t know about you but if I see myself on fire, I want it off of me and that would be the only thing I could do. But then it hit me, what better place to be on fire than in the ocean? Surf on, brother.
If I lived over the ocean and was cooking eggs and my apron caught on fire, I would sit tight until the eggs hit over easy so I could pull ’em off before the yolks hardened. If I was on a boat and playing ping pong and my non-paddle arm’s sleeve caught fire, I would totally wait until it was after my serve. If I was on a jet ski and my vest was on fire, I would absolutely gun the jet ski really, really fast (like really fast) and then try and turn the jet ski on a dime before I even thought about the flames.
Which is to say, when you have one serious problem on your plate but the solution is completely surrounding you, take your time. Enjoy the waves. Eat some eggs. Play ping pong. Ride a jet ski. Let it burn.
Here’s Jamie O’Brien surfing Teahupo’o on fire: