Words Through A River

"All good things-trout as well as eternal salvation-come by grace and grace comes by art and art does not come easy."
Many people search the whole lives for a passion, for something that brings them joy. I have been lucky and fortunate, because I have this in life. Fly fishing is a hobby that for me brings me peace, and comfort. Many people just say it is just fishing, but its more than that to me. It is a way to connect to the energy around you. The river is a sanctuary, there is something so familiar about the way the river moves, and yet it remains foreign to me. From the moment that I set foot in the river, it seduces me. hypnotized by the ripples and sounds, the cool air that rushes through your lungs and the smell of dew that soothes your senses. It is nature that takes you away from the stress and the chaos of the world, and makes it right from the first cast you make.
Watching your fly line gracefully wisp through the air, and land gently on the water, you wait. Focused, attentively watching for any slit moment of your indicator. Then in the midst of this calm world, adrenaline spikes as you hook your first fish of the day. The fish fights for its life, jerking, pulling, desperately trying to get free. You patently reel your line in, trying not to be to forceful, but gentle like a painter guiding his brush across the canvas. As the fish comes in excitement over comes you, smiling and boasting with pride. For anybody who has fly fished, knows reeling in a trout is no easy task, it takes finesse and grace. As the fish approaches you defeated, you sooth it with your hands under their underbelly. Unhooking your fly from there mouth you take a moment and admire God's creation. Beautiful, brilliant radiant colors beam throughout the whole body of the trout. For a split second you are thinking of nothing, just peace of mind, all the worries in the world are gone, nothing exists except for that moment or serenity. As you cradle the fish under water for it to regain its breath, it darts off. You start the whole process again, but each experience is different, for no two fish are the same. I think that is what captivates me, that each catch is different, its not mundane nor repetitive, like many things in our lives.
I will close this thought with a passage from one of my favorite books, and films of all time. "A River Runs Through It" by Norman Maclean.
"We sat on the bank and the river went by. As always, it was making sounds to itself, and now it made sounds to us. It would be hard to find three men sitting side by side who knew better what a river was saying.
On the Big Blackfoot River above the mouth of Belmont Creek the banks are fringed by large Ponderosa pines. In the slanting sun of late afternoon the shadows of great branches reached from across the river, and the trees took the river in their arms. The shadows continued up the bank, until they included us. A river, though, has so many things to say that it is hard to know what is says to each of us."