I took my sons on a fishing trip on Sunday, just the men, a fishing rod, two fishing pols and a bottle of corn for bait. We arrived got the bait on the hook and made our first cast. We sat down in anticipation, as this is a spot which we know really well and always have great success at. Unfortunately we soon realised that the fishing was slow and after about 30 minutes, no action.
My sons Liham 5 and Righardt 4 found the 30 minute wait really excruciating, so they started building a sand castle or at least each started his own project. Meanwhile as has been the case in the past, my mind was at work and at the issues that have been nagging me at work . Both boys asked me join them and help them build a sand castle, but I turned them down, saying that I just needed to relax. Five minutes later the two of them got in a scuffle which needed my intervention and then it hit me! They were frustrated with me not joining them, not being present, not giving them the attention they were craving and this lead to their scuffle with each other. All the while no action on the fishing side. I pulled myself up and started digging in the sand and immediately my son’s were next to me helping me dig and building a sand castle. The issues they had with each other non existent! In the proses of digging my eldest son found a worm and excitedly drew my attention to it. Since the fishing had been slow with the corn I suggested we put the worm onto the hook. This excited the boys immensely! So we hooked the worm and made a cast. Now before we left for the river earlier in the day, we decided that the order would be youngest to oldest. So when the line started running of the reel 2 minutes later my youngest jumped up and pulled in a monster! Well at least at this stage for us, this was a monster. A beautiful orange river yellow fish, we had caught plenty of these in the past, but this one was special. We were a team, Liham found the worm, I gave the idea of using it for bait and Righardt my youngest caught a monster! As you can imagine after this, we worked together in a brilliant state to finish our sand castle. We never found any more worms and didn’t catch another fish, but it really didn’t matter anymore the moment had been captured forever!
Moments like these are there for the taking everyday. The sort of moments that give our lives meaning and fulfil our innermost beings. Being present and focusing on that which really matters is what makes these moments possible.
