This is not a car blog. This is about the need to reset. How ever that may be done for you, this is how I do it. I am not a crowd person, I don’t enjoy concerts or restaurants, like I did when I was younger. I do not have a problem sharing my hobbies but am a follower of the rule of 4. That rule is that once you pass the number of 4 it is hard for there to be any true connection with the people you are with. Inevitably once you pass the rule of 4 you will have the person that cannot avoid talking about the news, or rabble rousing in general just to create conflict or take comfort away. I don’t want that in my private or public life. I find solace in being able to think clearly without media deciding what should be going on in my head. I don’t listen to the radio or watch television, and I certainly don’t want to listen to someone regurgitate incorrect information that they have no place talking about.
First and foremost, my family is a huge part of my reset. Being able to spend time with them and not allow the stresses of the world cloud that time is what I strive for. Usually, my disconnect is dependent on remote water. By remote it can be the low country waters of South Carolina, or a mountain stream in Tennessee or North Georgia. It also is connected heavily to my ability to fish. I recently had the privilege to take a very close friend fishing for the first time. This friend is family to me. He understands I am difficult to get along with, I don’t enjoy outside company, I don’t always have the best laid plans, and there is a chance what I set out for can spin and change as fast as a lightning bolt striking the earth.
When it comes to fishing, I really don’t care what style or type of fishing I am doing. I more care about the rhythmic movement, the sight of the water dancing and lapping gently against the boat. The sounds of the water may it be moving or static. The shore crawling up from the waters in the form of sandy beaches or rooted mountain laurel. The hunt for the perfect place to cast your line, in the hopes of landing peace even more so than the elusive fish. Don’t get me wrong there is nothing like feeling the light tug of your first rainbow trout, that you thank for letting you retrieve it as you gently release it back to its home, but all of that is part of the peace found through the hunt.
To be able to share these things with someone that has never experienced this is immeasurable. I share it with my wife and kids on a regular basis on various vacations through the Southeast. We are so blessed to live in a place that these things are so easily accessed helping people realize this fortune is awesome. It is also double edged, not wanting to encourage crowds but, being able to share with some one of similar sensibilities is nice. To be able to take a grown man that has never been able to experience this was a cool experience. I spent a lot of my time watching and not fishing to be able to critique casts and spot the trout in the hopes that he would feel that first strike. Wandering with intent to find the “sweet” spot of that mountain water. Walking knee deep in a mountain stream until your sandaled feet go numb.
I know fishing isn’t for everyone. This isn’t what this article is about. This about the need to find what you need to stay centered. Then find the person you can help finding center and share it. As much as I am not a group person, everyone needs the people they need and we are all in it together, so instead of trying to harp on all the bad things, maybe try to help someone find something good and bring each other to center and rise above everything else.