![\"clc](\"http:\/\/www.ikemediology.com\/clc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/clc-fishing.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nI knew an incredible cast of characters in my \u201cgrowing up<\/strong><\/em>\u201d years. (Not sure I am out of them yet.) \u00a0Most anyone from the Grand Manan of my day would know each and every one of them. \u00a0The best way that I can describe my childhood to initiated island folk\u00a0is to say that I had a Huckleberry Finn\/Tom Sawyer experience. \u00a0I think we were poor but I am not 100% sure. Even if we were not, there was nothing that money could have added to our lives.<\/p>\n Rupert was a major player in those early years. \u00a0I don\u2019t think there were many days when the sunrise didn\u2019t find us running and sundown reminded us that we ought to check in at home just to make sure that everyone was okay. \u00a0Sequential adventures and mishaps filled our days and the memories bring absolute delight to my soul.<\/p>\n One of my favourite pastimes was brook fishing. I learned a life lesson on the Dock Brook. \u00a0I call it the \u201cLaw of Creek Fishing<\/strong><\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n It began with cutting an alder and wrapping about 25\u2032 of fishing line around the top on one end. \u00a0We found our way to the edge of the brook, in stealth mode, careful not to cast unnecessary shadows on the water or to make loud noises that might scare the fish. \u00a0Rupert routinely laid claim to the first deep hole. \u00a0I would find the next. \u00a0Apart from an occasional,\u00a0“Are you getting any\u00a0bites\u201d<\/strong><\/em>, it was relatively quiet. Then the twigs would begin snapping and the bushes rustling. \u00a0Rupert was looking for some better site after about 2 minutes in the first location.<\/p>\n My mind began to work.<\/p>\n If he gets too far ahead of me, he\u2019ll catch all the big ones.<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0 Restless …<\/p>\n Patience would try to advise me to stay where I was just a little longer. I was always a patient person so I would give it another 30 seconds or so. The challenge now was to sneak past Rupert so as not to interrupt his attempt to pull the big one out of that spot under the tree. \u00a0I was never able to do that. \u00a0At the last instant he would\u00a0glance over his shoulder and note the fact that\u00a0I was now upstream of him<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n Barely settled in my new pool I would hear him coming less like a quiet brook fisherman and more like a spooked buck.<\/p>\n A few more forever seconds more in my claim.<\/p>\n Then it occurred to me that I could make better time walking up the brook itself than trying to navigate the heavy bush.<\/p>\n You know where this is going \u2026 It turned into a race up the brook and the only fish we caught were the ones that we stepped on. \u00a0But it was a beautiful boyhood memory.<\/p>\n The lesson for me is that\u00a0life is best lived right where you are and in the race to get ahead we lose something for whatever dubious gains we might make<\/strong><\/em>. \u00a0What we give \u00a0away in life is tragic by times. \u00a0As a general principle, our employers get the best deal regardless of what we are paid. \u00a0That is just the way it works. \u00a0The minute they begin to doubt this life gets more difficult. \u00a0The golden goose is introduced to performance quotas.<\/p>\n Somewhere along the way\u00a0we forget that we are the commodity<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0and we begin to behave as dependents on those that we serve. \u00a0Once that happens, we lose, regardless of what we gain. \u00a0We lose our heart and souls when life becomes little more than an exchange of labor for pay checks. \u00a0We stop believing in ourselves and even more we lose sight of the fact that God has created each of us uniquely, to live \u2026 uniquely.<\/p>\n What are your passions? \u00a0What would you do in life if money were not a factor? \u00a0What are the things that you always find time for? \u00a0What makes you sing or dance? \u00a0What grieves you most deeply? Somewhere in the midst of these kinds of questions is the thing that your life ought to be most about. \u00a0And it is always possible \u2026 rarely easy \u2026 perhaps not always something that may bring riches \u2026 but always possible.<\/p>\n You get to keep your soul when you pursue the things that matter. \u00a0You get to enjoy loved ones when you pursue the most important things.<\/p>\n Lily Tomlin said, \u201cThe problem with the rat race is that if you win, you are still a rat<\/strong><\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Jesus said, \u201cWhat shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul<\/strong><\/em>.\u201d As Lifers, lets give ourselves to the things that matter \u2026 I think we are on that track. \u00a0Be patient.\u00a0Isaiah 40:31<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I knew an incredible cast of characters in my \u201cgrowing up\u201d years. (Not sure I am out of them yet.) \u00a0Most anyone from the Grand Manan of my day would know each and every one of them. \u00a0The best way that I can describe my childhood to initiated island folk\u00a0is to say that I had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life-between-sundays","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6IX45-ew","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ikemediology.com\/clc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ikemediology.com\/clc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ikemediology.com\/clc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ikemediology.com\/clc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ikemediology.com\/clc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=900"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.ikemediology.com\/clc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":909,"href":"http:\/\/www.ikemediology.com\/clc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900\/revisions\/909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ikemediology.com\/clc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ikemediology.com\/clc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ikemediology.com\/clc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}