Admittedly I love guns, hunting and handloading. These and other pastimes take up most of my spare moments each week. But there are other ways I enjoy the outdoors. Camping and fishing, for example, come to mind.
My father is a great fisherman; I think he literally could drop dental floss with a jack tied on the end of it into a mud puddle and land one. I on the other hand really have to work at it. Sometimes even then, I merely spend the whole day feeding the fish. If you are someone who is drawn to your hobbies by feeling successful at doing them, you might think fishing is not for you.
One reason I loathe working with wildcats as a handloader is the immense amount of patience and extra work that it can involve. It’s not that I’m lazy; it’s that I want to be efficient. With fishing I’ve had to learn to let the joy be in the journey, not the destination. Think about it, you’re going for the experience rather than whatever success or failure that might ensue. The middle is the point, not the beginning nor the end. There is no need to keep track of time, nor rush around like at the office. Just you relaxing in the shade, listening to the rushing river or the babbling brook, whichever applies. Should the peace and solitude wear out its welcome, you can always invite someone to come along with you.
Fishing companionship is something to be treasured. It’s a time to reflect on everything from yourself, tiny speck in the tapestry which is this universe, to society and humanity at large. You may not solve all of the world’s problems together, but in the thought process and accompanying discourse you’ll learn many things about each other, which is where it starts. Suddenly things like efficiency mean less than spending quality time in the building up of others.
The secret to getting it done and making a better place for tomorrow starts inside of each of us, and within our families. Families make communities, and counties make states. You get the idea. Sometimes you’ll even catch yourselves some tasty filets for dinner. Sometimes the best thing you could do for yourself, or the rest of the world, is to just go feed the fish.
Like fishing? Write to us at shootingthebreezebme@gmail.com!
The Link LonkNovember 04, 2020 at 03:00AM
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Shooting the Breeze: Feeding the fish | Columnists - Blue Mountain Eagle
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