MICROSKIRTS
341
viewsFishing for Meaning in Life
By scranor1, Thursday, September 2, 2010
Last Sunday, I went fishing for the first time in my adult life. My boyfriend begged me to go for months, and though I continued to explain to him I’m more of an "indoor-girl", his pleading eventually won me over. We packed up our poles, tackle box and other words absent from my daily vocabulary to venture down to Georgia’s very own Chattahoochee River.I have no pretenses of being Emerson or Thorough, thrusting the ideas of life and nature into some beautiful prose; however, I had some provoking thoughts while enraptured in the great outdoors and all she offers.
1. A liberal arts education, in no way, guarantees food. As I enter the post-college job hunt, I'm learning how true this statement is. Because if degrees equal jobs and jobs equal food, why have I been left out of the equation? Turns out, four years (okay five-and-a-half) full of multiple classes and training in no way prepares you to bait a hook, cast a line, or catch your own food.
2. Getting (or catching in this case) something doesn’t mean you know what to do with it. When a trout took the bait, I fell apart. I cried when we reeled it in. I cried when it flopped around on shore trying to get away. I cried when the hook got caught in the fish’s throat. Finally, I cried as I watched my boyfriend extract said hook with pliers. But this embarrassingly emotional display did remind me about a few things in life.
a. It can be surprisingly and unpredictably cruel. Even something that appears harmless, like catch-and-release fishing, can cause someone, or something, to get hurt. Even worse, many times it’s the least deserving person, or thing that gets trampled by life.
b. I was also reminded of humankind's decency as I watched my boyfriend hold that fish upright in water until it was able to swim again. Occasionally, we are fortunate enough to run across those individuals who take responsibility for their actions and take the time to make things right.
3. Sometimes the fish take the bait. Whether it's in love, in business, or in relationships, sometimes laying it all out on the line gets you screwed. You tell him you love him, and he tells you what a great friend you are. You send in a business proposal, and the company steals your ideas and doesn’t hire you. You offer to help out a friend ,and they walk all over you. You should never put yourself out there without proper consideration, and you will never put your heart or mind out there without risking it all.
4. When the fish aren’t biting, move downstream. When they’re still not biting, call it a day…and so we did.
After at least a hundred tries through out the day, I finally cast a decent line. I can’t believe how much fishing and life wound up having in common. All this time, I thought leisurely fishers were just trying to escape life. The truth is they're tackling it head on. Whether it's life or fishing, it’s really just a series of give and takes mixed with gains and losses. In the end, I think I’ve come to respect the fisher. Their patience, endurance and care are something we could all learn from and incorporate into our own lives. I know I’ll be taking these lessons back to the mainland.
(photo www.geckosgeorgia.com)
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