We hear a lot of talk about staying in the moment. There is a Zen parable that I love because it takes this difficult challenge to the extreme. It goes something like this. A traveler was chased by a viscous tiger to the edge of a high cliff. Slowly the tiger advanced until the poor guy was backed off the crumbling hillside. As he is falling, presumably to his death, he sees a blackberry bush growing on the side of the mountain and catches sight of one particular berry growing there. "What a perfectly beautiful berry! " he exclaims as he continues to fall. Staying right in the moment.
I agree; some folks are better at this than others.
When I take off for the mountains and fly fish on a stream or lake, I have to be ever conscious of staying in the moment. One lapse could mean everything from taking an unplanned dip in the water to missing something important like a fish taking a fly or even the beauty of the surroundings.
Yesterday, I was able to flee the bonds of the city and the current state of this planet and have a little alone time (amid others also escaping) on a lake. There was very little wind for awhile, lots of bird action from beautiful Mallard Ducks to a pair of eagles circling overhead, to an amorous pair of salimanders swimming by. I temporarily forgot about climate change and the destruction of the middle class. I laid aside the idiocies of Common Core, Kardashians, and fast food. For a few hours no Nigerian terrorists, no security cameras, no Tea Party non-sense. Free from the repetition of TV commercials, rising costs of everything from gasoline to a quart of milk. No leaf blowers, advertising jingles or difficulty finding a parking place.
Just wind and water and the occasional interaction with a rainbow trout.
Dinner too.
I agree; some folks are better at this than others.
When I take off for the mountains and fly fish on a stream or lake, I have to be ever conscious of staying in the moment. One lapse could mean everything from taking an unplanned dip in the water to missing something important like a fish taking a fly or even the beauty of the surroundings.
Yesterday, I was able to flee the bonds of the city and the current state of this planet and have a little alone time (amid others also escaping) on a lake. There was very little wind for awhile, lots of bird action from beautiful Mallard Ducks to a pair of eagles circling overhead, to an amorous pair of salimanders swimming by. I temporarily forgot about climate change and the destruction of the middle class. I laid aside the idiocies of Common Core, Kardashians, and fast food. For a few hours no Nigerian terrorists, no security cameras, no Tea Party non-sense. Free from the repetition of TV commercials, rising costs of everything from gasoline to a quart of milk. No leaf blowers, advertising jingles or difficulty finding a parking place.
Just wind and water and the occasional interaction with a rainbow trout.
Dinner too.
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