Don't Forget to Find Your own Peace
I sat there listening and watching two good friends debate. Not flies, rods, reels, or even nets, hell it would have been more interesting to hear them debate over what shade of blue the sky was. Nope somehow I found myself in the middle of a debate about politics(UGGHHHH). To me it all sounded like blah blah blah but to them it was becoming more than just a debate, it appeared it was becoming a full blown argument. Now if you spend much time on social media these days I'm sure you've see a lot of this. It amazes me how many people have so much free time on their hands that they are willing to spend it proving a complete stranger wrong instead of just scrolling by. This wedge between our fellow man has gotten(in my opinion) sickening. Left, right, red, blue, he's lying, she's lying, prove it, that's not what he meant, she can't say that, how can an entire party feel that way? War is good, war is bad, we have to have war, we need peace, gas is expensive, gas has been more expensive, I have insurance, you should't have insurance, food is expensive, prices will go up, prices will come down, this person is good, that person is bad, this news is good, that news is bad..... OHHH MY GOD make it all STOP!!!!!! So I have to ask the question; how do you get away from it and find your own peace? Do you every find your peace?
The next morning I was up around 4:30am getting myself ready for a day on the water. It was funny that, for some reason, that argument was still stuck in my head and I wasn't even part of it. The amount of energy the two of them used up somehow managed to stick with me. With a fresh cup of coffee in hand I hit the road. I turned on the radio to get the news from overnight and again I was hit by the world of politics. After listening for twenty minutes I had to shut it off. It seemed like five minutes worth of news with fifteen minutes of again people debating over what had happened over night. I couldn't take it anymore, it seemed to be everywhere. I spent the next hour and a half driving to nothing but the sound of my tires on the road. Once I parked the truck I got out and took a look around. The first thing I noticed was how quiet it was. I didn't even hear a bird chirping. "Quiet, finally" I thought to myself. I unloaded my kayak and hit the trail. About a half mile back in the woods I came to a large stream I had to cross. As I prepared my kayak to cross it, I stopped.
I stopped and took in the view for a solid twenty minutes. It was breath taking. To make it even better it was still and ablsoutly silent. I though to myself, if people could see this themselves I think they would realize that all the arguing and anger is useless. Places like this make me realize that the world is too big and too beautiful to spend time fighting and arguing over nonsense. I spent the rest of my day fishing and kayaking out in the middle of nowhere. The noisest part of the day was when my paddle hit the water. It was refreshing and, well, peaceful. On my way home I stopped and checked out a new river I had never seen before.
I stood on the bridge and just watched the water flow by. I listened as it softly flowed around the rocks. It was the perfect ending to the day. I had once again found peace in this crazy world.
We all need a way to find peace. I think we can all agree the world is a chaotic place right now. The entire planet needs to find a way to relax and find some peace. So many people are on edge waiting to pounce on the next person that doesn't have the same beliefs as they do. It's exhausting and depressing to watch it all unfold around us. But there is hope, hope lies in those quiet secluded areas away from all the noise that is spewed at us every day. So I encourage all of you to find some peace. Whether it's fly fishing, hiking, kayaking, or just reading a good book. Turn off the world for a little bit and enjoy the beauty around you. Spend a bit more time listening to the wind blowing through the trees instead of the talking heads on TV that are paid to tell you what to believe. If we all did this I think we could start to find more things we agree on and we would all be surrounded in a much more peaceful world.
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