Early on, when I was a teenager, I felt really lost. And because of that I kind of dabbled with hallucinogenic drugs and did it periodically. I was kind of trying to find some answers and I thought that maybe I could find them like the shamans did in some alternate reality. And one day, I had taken LSD, and I had taken actually a pretty large dose of LSD and had a really horrible trip, which I'm sure I'll talk about in a future blog post. But in any case, the result was a terrible accident, and I ended up in the emergency room then I was quite badly hurt. And thankfully, there was no no serious injuries, but I had just a huge gash in my head.

And I had scrapes all over my body, so I was just a complete mess. And my when my mother found out the next day, because she came to the hospital and the doctors told her that I had been On hallucinogens, she was extremely, extremely upset. And so she basically said I needed to get my act together. And from now on, I would have to be responsible for paying my way through college. It was kind of tough love policy. And so I was I was heartbroken, obviously.

And also at that same time, my friends were kind of fed up with me as well. As I mentioned in the previous section, I just had a lot of anger issues. And this incident with the emergency room thing, they just thought I was such I was just too volatile of a person. So they actually also cut me off as well. So I was just in such a bad state. And I was really worried that I was alone in the world and I really just had myself to rely on and I was afraid that I end up homeless on the streets.

So I made vowed that day that I was going to get my life together, get my shit in order. And I ended up putting myself through school and doing really, really well. But I also became a really disciplined person, I didn't go out, I didn't have any extra curricular activities. I had school. And I remember seeing my friends going snowboarding and being like, wow, that's not even in my realm right now. Good for them.

But you know, right now my world is my studies. And so I paid a pretty big price for it. Because basically, I needed to prove myself that I could actually that I could be something and that carried on even in my professional life. And eventually, when I was at my first job at Intel, I discovered snowboarding and when I went up to the slopes, I was like, wow, you know, my mind is so quiet. It's amazing. And I thought it was being in the mountains and the fresh air.

And I'm sure it had a lot to do with that and being in nature, but also a lot of it had to do with just doing something for the fun of it, which I hadn't done in years. And years later, when I kind of had a near breakdown, as I described in my story. I eventually discovered surfing, and surfing, for me, was all about play and all about being in nature. I was actually doing something just for the fun of it. So I wasn't worried about how this is going to contribute to me being a wealthy person or me being successful. How this is just a stepping stone towards this or that I was just surfing just to surf play.

Play is something that most adults have forgotten how to do. You But it's a potential cure for much of what ails us mentally and emotionally. Play is an excellent healthy mood booster, and can get us outdoors and interacting with other people in a fun, life affirming way. Try to choose an activity you enjoyed greatly that involves interaction with other people, especially people you love. outdoor sports is an excellent option such as frisbee catch, volleyball, etc. However, indoor activities such as board games can work well as well.

Make sure it's something you enjoy doing intrinsically, and are doing it just for the fun and nothing else. So much of what drives our actions today is related to money or success. And it's an absolute liberation to actually do something just for fun. Personally, Surfing is my playtime activity of choice. It's an exercise, it's social activity, it's meditation, and it's being in nature, all roles into one. However, I have friends that find hiking and bicycling equally as rewarding.

Try to make play a part of your weekly routine in order to add a dimension of healthy fun into your life.