THE VALUE OF TIME
Fly fishing is a great example of how to enjoy our time, living it in the most incomprehensible and inexplicable way for the layman who doesn’t even know how to tie a miserable knot. The fisherman devotes an unlimited number of hours to his passion; For him, the time spent in the river passes quickly and without realizing it, instead, each moment is lived as if it were the last. Unfortunately, the current pace of life and the needs created by a society that not only consumes without restraint, but also depredates every moment of its life in actions that are useless or that could be approached in very different ways.
Here are two short stories that will invite us to reflect with a smile on how difficult it is for many to find not just a whole day, but a few hours to go fishing.
A man lives quietly in his house in the city and goes to a nearby river to fish every day. This man has a wonderful time fishing and every day he is in the river for a period of 2 to 4 hours.
One day he is fishing and an American fisherman comes to the river. When they meet, the gentleman is pulling out a large trout. The American sees it and contemplates it, and after taking it out he says:
You are a great fisherman!
Thank you! the man kindly answers.
Are you leaving? asks the American.
Yes, tomorrow I’ll be back for a while… the fisherman gently comments.
He should start a fishing business and take fishermen like me fishing. The American advises him.
So? exclaims the man surprised.
Sure!, and then you can set up a fishing shop and later an agency of fishing guides!
Caramba! Says the gleeful man.
Yes! and even more!, with a few years you can set up an international fishing travel agency and a large distributor of fishing equipment for the whole world. He will earn a lot of money and be famous! the American assures him.
The man looks at him astonished, and exclaims: Hey! and then, when I go fishing???
Here is the second story…
A father of a family who loves to fish finds himself with constant refusals from his wife and the continuous obligations imposed by the current life system.
Honey, tomorrow I’m going to go fishing in the river so…
Tomorrow? Exclaims her wife with great concern, tomorrow you have to accompany me to the meal that my friend makes at her in-laws’ house!
The man shrugs his shoulders, looks sadly at his freshly prepared fishing gear, and accepts it resignedly.
The following week he says the same thing to his wife, but with more restraint and prudence:
Honey, tomorrow I would like to go fishing in the river so…
Fishing again? But if tomorrow we have to go to the premiere of the actor’s new movie that I like so much and that deals with the love of a couple… you’ll love it! Thanks sweetie!
The poor man takes a deep breath, sighs, emits various snorts and whines, gives up and resolves to postpone it for another week.
The following week, he resolves to go all out and prevent another tragedy; Faced with his new proposal, his wife warns him that that day he has a medical check-up and in the afternoon the corresponding unavoidable commitment to go shopping with her children. The desolate man with the lost look gives up once more. His wife sees him so sad that she comforts him by saying that he will have enough time to go fishing when he retires, because then he will have every day to do what he wants.
Finally, the man retires and excitedly tells his wife that the next morning he wants to go fishing. His wife’s response is that now he must go shopping with her because she can’t do it on her own and now there are new unavoidable obligations like going to the doctors, taking care of the in-laws, having meals with the couple’s friends, ah! And don’t forget your daughter’s sons and your son’s daughters, that you must go to look for them every day at school!
When a person reaches a certain age, they realize how important time is and even more to make good use of it. Perhaps it is not about making plans, or framing the days of the week to do this or that, but in addition to work, we must dedicate a series of hours of the week to our leisure and thinking about totally different things. This is very good to empty the mind and strengthen our spirit. The desire to earn more money and the accumulated money may be more of a hindrance than an advantage and the needs created or various conveniences may also be a big problem, as well as extra duties in our free time. Finding the balance is not easy.
For many, finding a single day off from time to time to go fishing is almost an act of faith and facing many setbacks and obligations. Since I don’t have any recipe to solve all this, the only thing that one can do is literally escape whenever possible without giving too many explanations or thinking about what can be lost or not gained, wishing only to go fishing and spend a few hours absorbed in a pleasant atmosphere.
Oh! And don’t forget to put your phone in airplane mode!
~ Carles V.