Do you fish?

You know people who don’t fish think that fishing is lazy or boring, but it is the complete opposite. There are a hundred little decisions to be made, variables to be considered. And you’re never quite sure what made the difference. Did I cast too high, too far to the left? Did I reel it in too slow or too fast? Is the lure too shiny or too dull? Do I stay here, or should I go over there? And you know it’s not luck, but you do not know by how much. People are predictable–unchanging, monotonous. They use the same language, they offer the same excuses, they make the same mistakes. People are endlessly disappointing. Because you hope they won’t be. I knew that she would need me. I knew that you’d come here begging for help. This was all predictable, all disappointing.

This is why I am fishing. Because I am never disappointed out here, because I don’t expect anything. Because anything is possible. I can be hopeful out here, even in failure, because I know if I just go out there, around that tree, it might be different, something might be different, something I do might make a difference.