Learning to adapt and be more still
Our Crew of Six
Dad mentored me on fishing Sierra streams, sharing what he’d learned from his grandfather. The best tip: fish where few fish. That can mean smaller streams with no campgrounds to larger and more popular ones, but in between the campgrounds. Many fisherfolk are lazy and just fish nearby. So find streams with the road far from the creek, and a good walk through brush brings you to almost virgin water. The fish have more time to grow and aren’t spooked by hordes tramping along the stream.
But in my late 70s, my balance has decreased on rocks and brush, and if I tripped and broke a leg I might never be found. I try to avoid this. But on a recent Sierra fishing trip to Big Pine Creek with some guys from the Temecula church I planted, one morning most of the guys took off for bigger fish on a nearby lake. Just Randy and I stayed behind, so the temptation grew to return to the thrilling fishing style of yesteryears. I hiked upstream a half a mile or more on the road, at an elevation of 7600 ft. I live at 1000. Do the math. No campsites in sight, so I took off across the brush. Not even a hint of a trail, brush popping at its max.
Almost at the creek, exhaustion overtook me, and it took a 10-minute break to rest, only to find that trees and brush didn’t allow access to the water. So downhill again, and another break. Finally finding access to the creek, yet another rest. Even falling once, and though I wasn’t hurt, I figured this wasn’t smart at all. I could trip on a rock or branch, break a leg, and likely never be found.
That entire afternoon, I rested. Didn’t even go out fishing, on one of the best trips for the most and biggest trout in some time. Read some, pondered some, and realized that the time had come to say good bye to brush popping. My wife needed me at home. So I also said hello to more pondering. Praying. Meditating. Funny, how productive that afternoon was—I wrote four poems and the heart of this post.
Two lessons, for me at least. First accept reality and don’t yearn for what we could do in bygone days. Be honest about our weaknesses and strengths and failings. Second, and this applies to us all—take time to stop. To pray. To ponder. To meditate. To evaluate life, changes, and our spiritual condition. In my days of feverishly having to be on the stream and catch more trout, I never wrote four poems, with material for five posts.
I learned the truth of the passage, “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10 NAS).
Kick Starting the Application
Do you lean to striving or being still enough to think and ponder? Do you have regular times to do nothing but relax and meditate? Why or why not?