gone fishin'

The day after the Literacy India Trust conference I enjoyed an early morning walk on the beach.
At sunrise off the East coast of India, these fishermen waited patiently until the waves calmed down to launch their boat into the bay of Bengal.

The scene reminded me of the story of an American vacationing in central America. He happened upon a fisherman and asked how long he had fished that day. The fisherman responded that he typically went out for 2-3 hrs. each morning. He explained that it was enough time to catch fish for the family and some to sell in the market.

The American asked why he didn’t fish longer. The fisherman replied, “Becuse I wouldn’t be able to spend as much time w/ my wife and family."

The American replied, “But if you were to fish for a full day you would have enough to sell in the market and buy another boat. Eventually you could buy a fleet of fishing boats and hire others to work them. In time you would become very rich."

The fisherman ask, “why would I want to do that?”

The American responded, “So you could retire a wealthy man.”

"Why would I need that?" asked the fisherman.

"So you could move to a small fishing village and fish whenever you wanted to."

May God help us enjoy the journey.