Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood...

I am not sure what my problem has been lately, but damn have I been cranky. I have not been out fishing enough and I have been sick and tired of the rainy, wintry weather. In the middle of all of that everyone around me seems to be down too. As I reflected inward, I wondered if it was just me. Maybe…but I don’t think so.

Because I was so moody, I was overly sensitive to lots of negativity around me. I noticed conflict among my friends, fighting in my family, and lots of critical comments by those around me regarding others. It bothered me…I mean really, really bothered me. Life is too short…way too short. And then, I was at a meeting with some friends of mine a few weeks ago and they started making disparaging comments about a young fella in attendance that had on some funky clothes, a scraggly beard, and a head full of hair. Their attitude really aggravated me…who the heck do they think they are? Whether we remember it or not (and most of my friends don’t remember much of anything and what they do remember is embellished exaggerated baloney…you know what I am talking about!) many of us used to be “that guy”. Oh, the 40’s had rayon dresses and viscose suits, in the 50’s it might have been jeans rolled up and ducktails, the 60’s had its “hippie” stage, the 70’s acid rock, the 80’s Madonna (yuck!), and so on. What’s my point? Every generation has their thing. News flash – inside of those clothes, hair, and skin is a HUMAN BEING! Just because somebody is different than you does not mean you are better. If you have a problem with that, drop me a line.

Open your mind. If you were to take a minute and get to know that person that doesn’t fit into your teeny weenie box, you might just find out they are more like you then you could imagine. We really need to look for the best in each other. Forgive and forget. Live and let live. Learn and love. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. God gave you two ears and one mouth…if you are really lucky, he might have even granted you style and grace. Every transaction in life presents you with an opportunity to make a difference in somebody else’s life – for better or worse. The choice is yours.

I found out last week that an old friend of mine just passed away. I saw him in the fall and he looked great. He was working on a lifelong project that was his grand vision and it was actually coming together in a very exciting way. He was full of passion, piss and vinegar. He was fired up and his dream was starting to come true. It was a project of mega proportions. In January, unbeknownst to me, he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and this past week he has moved on to his next adventure. I am really going to miss him. Godspeed, my friend.

At long last, this past weekend we actually had some nice sunny weather and I am crawling out of my funk. I hope the rest of you are too. Go out and do something nice for somebody else. It might just cheer you up. And remember, maybe, just maybe, it’s not about you. Noodle on that one boys...noodle on that one. What do my points have to do with fishing? More than you might realize. You think about that…TL