A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.
"Not very long," answered the Mexican.
"But then, why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American.
The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.
The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs. I have a full life."
The American interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat."
"And after that?" asked the Mexican.
"With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise."
"How long would that take?" asked the Mexican.
"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American.
"And after that?"
"Afterwards? Well my friend, that’s when it gets really interesting," answered the American, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start buying and selling stocks and make millions!"
"Millions? Really? And after that?" asked the Mexican.
"After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends."
And the moral of this story is: ……… Know where you’re going in life… you may already be there.
This simple, little story has an excellent moral. How many of us are mindlessly going through the same routine day after day without a clear picture of where we want to be in life? Maybe we are already there!
Albert Einstein said “Too many people buy things they don’t need with money they don’t have trying to impress people they don’t like”
Take a step back and re-evaluate your life. Where do you want to go? What are you doing to get there? What needs to change in your life? Change your mind, change your life.
I'm holding the high watch! Rev. Donna
2 comments:
Years ago I watched a documentry on a tribe of people (can't remember where but perhaps in Africa) who only own what they can carry on their backs.
They build a tiny fort-like home on stilts out of sticks and branches, consisting of a single room. The entire family lives in this small shelter, until the seasonal rains come and flood the area. When the water gets too high, they leave with what they own in a small bundle on their backs.
They can never own more than what they need to survive because nature dictates it to be so.
What if we were to shift our lives to only owning what we really need to survive? How little could we get away with? Food for thought.
Seeing as how (I'm a small town Ozarkian :^) who typically choses the pursuit of free time over pursuit of money, I love (self affirming thoughts, don't we all ;-) this fishing story and enjoyed reading it again. It's amazing to me there is a group of people somewhere who only keep what they can carry and haven't succumbed to the drive for security, entertainment, and other forms of happiness by accumulating globs of "stuff". (I suspect material equality is not occurring there either, and some have or will have ways to cart their things around.) How much energy do we put into carrying around beliefs (which lead to everything else) we really don't need to be happy? What would it be like to fully know the beliefs we use to create a sense of self are only a passing phase?
Two other related ideas I read today. Sonja Lyumbomirsky in The How of Happiness relates a group survey done over a 36 year period. People were asked how much income was needed by a family of four to "get along." The estimate increased as their incomes increased. And from UUWorld.org's Paul Rastor, "Liberal theology is not for the faint of heart. It invites us ... to be engaged in the culture without succumbing to the culture’s values." I wonder how often people examine the underpinnings of their religious culture, as well.
Given the human need to connect with others seek love/approval outside of self, it's a long road to escape the delusions of our multifacteted cultures and find lasting happiness through a greater Self. To quote another source, "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." Romans 12:2 NLV
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