Niamh Ní Chonghaile

“We came back late that afternoon to find Shams burned red by the sun with bags of rubbish and marine litter collected from the beach. He'd spent the whole day cleaning the entire beach. When I asked why he had done it, he explained that the sea had given him such joy that he wanted to look after it and give something back by taking care of it and cleaning it up. His experience of surfing had altered his perception in way that artist and writer Jenny Odell would describe as "reciprocal attention". A renewed attention to the living world that foster a sense of stewardship and interdependence, that helps blur the distinction between what's "outside" of ourselves and what's "inside" us.”
― Easkey Britton, Saltwater in the Blood: Surfing, Natural Cycles and the Sea's Power to Heal

“Air travel has made it possible to travel vast distances in no time at all. We fly so we can get to places more quickly, and waste less time. Yet, we often don't honour the passage of that time or respect the other costs of that rapid transition from one environment to the next. I didn't allow time to "unpack" the tension and stress my body must have carried as a result of the travel, not to mention the terrible stress it put on the environment. I realized so much of my life was driven by a "make it happen" attitude; that belief that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. And yet, my father constantly reminds me, "You can do anything you want. But you can't do everything." There is a cost. It takes energy. Be that fossil fuels, calories or our soul-connection.

In some indigenous cultures there is a belief that you need to allow time for your soul to catch up with your physical body after long journeys, so it's important to rest when you arrive and travel more slowly during the journey itself, taking time to pause, wait, rest.”
― Easkey Britton, Saltwater in the Blood: Surfing, Natural Cycles and the Sea's Power to Heal

“I got it today looking out there. It's not just about the wave itself, it's about the process of being available. I watched how you paddle, the wave comes, you miss it or someone else gets it, so you paddle back again. There's a lot of waiting, for the thrill of catching a wave. It's also about being outside, you're just a speck. The kind of humility of the experience of being in nature.”
― Easkey Britton, Saltwater in the Blood: Surfing, Natural Cycles and the Sea's Power to Heal

“Coming Ashore

Suspended
in the beautiful essence of isolation
a desire to go down into the depth within
awakens.”
― Easkey Britton, Saltwater in the Blood: Surfing, Natural Cycles and the Sea's Power to Heal