Robert Traver on Trout Fishing.
“I fish because I love to. Because I love the environs where trout are found, which are invariably beautiful, and hate the environs where crowds of people are found, which are invariably ugly. Because of all the television commercials, cocktail parties, and assorted social posturing I thus escape. Because in a world where most men seem to spend their lives doing what they hate, my fishing is at once an endless source of delight and an act of small rebellion. Because trout do not lie or cheat and cannot be bought or bribed, or impressed by power, but respond only to quietude and humility, and endless patience. Because I suspect that men are going this way for the last time and I for one don’t want to waste the trip. Because mercifully there are no telephones on trout waters. Because in the woods I can find solitude without loneliness. … And finally, not because I regard fishing as being so terribly important, but because I suspect that so many of the other concerns of men are equally unimportant and not nearly so much fun.” Trout refuse to live in ugly places.
Jerry Dennis on Fishing.
“Why fish? It teaches us to perform small acts with care. It humbles us. It enriches our friendships. It cultivates reverence for wild things and beautiful places. It reminds us that time needs occasionally to be squandered. It offers relief from endless chores and appalling world events. It makes us participants in nature instead of spectators… ”
Ken Pierpont on Fishing.
So this is the thing. I don’t really fish anymore, but I’m like a trout. I like to go to pretty places, the kind of places where trout live, especially when I need relief from “…appalling world events…” Can I suggest that when you are overwhelmed by appalling world events you find a place that that is soothing to your soul, someplace beautiful. People may think you odd, but go stand in a stream somewhere. Go climb a mountain. Go look on big water. Take a walk in the woods or do what I sometimes do. Get a comfortable folding lawn chair… and set it up by a tree somewhere and look at that tree, listen to the sounds of the birds that play among the branches. See how many sounds you can hear, sounds you would normally overlook. Feel the sun on your neck. Pray. Be thankful.
Whatever you do, don’t be overcome by appalling world events.
