Seeking Peace and Joy is not as easy as.... One Last Fish Story
So one of my readers forwarded a comment about fish stories. They wanted to remind me that Hemmingway’s “old Man” and a River runs Through it” were good szymbolic offerings,however I was overlooking the two most important fish stories of our time. They are of course, I was reminded—Finding Nemo and Jaws. Okay I replied I can see that, and if I am going to really her serious about fishingk and fish metaphors I’m “gonnna need a bigger boat.t.” Therefore, today will be it for now and maybe I’ll come back to it sometime. Right now, I’m just hoping you’ll buy some of these ideas hook, line, and sinker, so to speak.
Well...I’ve asked about this saying before, some months ago, but it merits a repeat now. The phrase? “Easy as shooting fish in a barrel.” As stated months ago this makes no logical sense...if you unpack it. First you have to get the fish into the barrel. Howe many barrels of fish have you ever seen? Then there3 is the shooting....as stated you would need to. Use an arrow because a gunshot would wreck the barrel and wouldn’t probably work. An arrow shot at the right angle might work.
Then again, seeking peace and joy might be exactly like shooting fish in a barrel because the fish are right there—so close—sometimes so easy to see, and yet exactly. How to get from where you are to your”destination” can still be elusive and the process for. Getting their is not very clear (especially if it’s a barrel of channel catfish with stingers because you can’t just reach your hand in and pull one out.) What if you lean too far into the barrel and fall in? It might be pretty hard to remove yourself from this jam and in life sometimes we get so involved in our destination that we no longer see the purpose we came with or the way out to the next stop.
catching the fish (because there are a lot of fish in the sea) carries with it some satisfaction, and yet I can’t help but wonder if the fishing isn’t the most important part and that’s why the parallel works for me. Happiness and success might be the fish that you catch and throw into the barrel or at least things like “when I get my degree” and when I buy that new car” could be some of the fish in anyone’s barrel of success and you could catch these for a moment and still not grasp the elusive peace and joy. We keep fishing for a bigger fish (in a smaller pond) and in the end will we come up empty?
So in the end we have a lot of fish stories and a lot of sayings about this thing we. Call fishing. It seems there is little peace or joy to be found in cocomparing. Oneself to other fish and wondering. Too long about other ponds. It is truly. Graceful endeavor to teach a man to fish, if indeed fish is what is desired and it is worth the time to check to make sure you shouldn’t. Be teaching a man to grow apples or plant seeds. The key is asking so that others invest in their own talents and offer the fruits of those talents to others. Finally shooting fish in the barrel is not lol that. Easy, and yet, we often sell happiness and success as. An enterprise based upon “if you only do this then that will happen” and you will be satisfied. Even if you capture your career and monetary fish it’s not a given that peace and joy come along. Maybe the biggest reward comes from keeping your. Hook in the river or pond or ocean and reflectingas the current brings life that exists below the surface closer for a while.
I’ll end this fish story. With a riddle first presented to me by Sister Aquinise (sp)my elementary school teacher and principal.
She wrote the following on the board and asked us what it spelled.
GHOTI
Then she wrote the. Words—laugh—women—motion
CA poem tomorrow will wrap this up maybe in newspaper and foil so that you can put it in the. Freezer for the winter.
Oak
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