The Fisherman

There is an interesting concept within the fisherman. The fisherman may allow us to understand how the same set of motions can produce the same results but the intentions are completely different. There are two types of fisherman: the one who catches fish for the discipline, patience, and satisfaction of catching fish and the fisherman who catches fish for the sake of selling the fish. Both fisherman are catching fish, and ultimately, can do the same thing with the fish. However, the intentions are what make the difference. Which fisherman do you think is happier?

The answer is obvious, but despite the obvious conclusion of the answer we come up with, we often find ourselves being the latter fisherman. Why do we give up the pleasures of living this life for the supposed securities that this world has to offer? We should allow ourselves to do what we love.

Some of the richest people I know are also the most insecure and unhappy people. It’s not just because they had a lot of money to look after and had to worry about people taking advantage of them. It’s most likely because they only believed in one thing: making money. Is money such a bad thing? Money isn’t a bad thing in itself; it’s the love of money that drives one to despair in pursuit of more.

Life isn’t always so black and white. We most likely have heard the wisdom of “Do what you love regardless of money.” This is completely accurate, but we do have responsibilities to take care of. So, how do we find a balance between what we love to do, if it doesn’t pay much, while taking care of our families and ourselves?

Ultimately, God knows our needs. There are many verses quoted in the Bible, which remind us, that anxiety, fear, and worry will never do anything beneficial for us. It’s true, but our limited minds want to tell us otherwise. In order to overcome this, we need to be a bit lenient and learn how to trust.

When I first decided to start my photography full-time, business was slow. I needed to learn how to be fine with not saving money. Although I was not saving money, I became happy. What at first seemed to be a necessity to me was later was seen as something that needed to be understood in a different perspective. It’s not that saving isn’t important; it simply became something that needed to wait. While photography work can be sporadic, I knew that the spring would bring more money in than the winter. My mindset needed to be flexible and patient.

We can plan as much as we want, but ultimately we have no security aside from God. We are better off trusting that the talents God gave us will bring us a life of happiness, rather than committing ourselves to some job that gives us a mediocre or good paycheck in order to play it safe. Life is going to end one day regardless of what you do – you may as well live it the way you were meant to.

For further related reading, please check out: Content With Yourself.