As a kid who grew up in one of Denmarks oldest harbors towns it is safe to say fishing has always been in my soul. The simple act of walking out in the sea with a fishing pole and stand there by yourself for hours. I can imagine this might sound like self-torture for many.
For me, it's absolute meditation.
Just standing there and doing the same repetitive task of throwing out the line, then pulling it back in. With 99.99% of the times, nothing else than that happens. Why is it I like it that much?
Is it some kind of genetic pleasure of hunting coming back from ancient times when fishing was probably one of the most reliable ways of surviving?
Or is it just because it is so soothing standing there at the edge of the sea, to listen to the waves, the birds and the wind. Just being with no other noise but what mother nature produces? Far away from Corona news, phones and what other human-made objects that were made to distract me from the beauty of this world.
Taking another life will always be brutal.
I will never get good at it. Maybe that is why I eat so little meat nowadays because I know just from fishing how much I pity the fish when I am about to cut its throat(Yes, I am a sensitive guy, alright?) and that is even knowing full well that at least this animal has had a free life and its pain is only here and now.
It's so brutal yet, it feels so natural. Does that make sense?
I rather eat the fish I killed with my own hands than any cow, chicken or even industrial caught fishes from the supermarket who all are polluting the world with pain and consumerism.
I know that my small act of taking a fishing pole and catch a fish that I will share with my family is harmless if not even helpful to nature. Catch what you need and nothing more. I like the fact my family has always tried to be a bit mindful of this. We only buy meat from a local farm that treats their animals amazingly as well as fishing and catching only what we know we can eat. Nothing goes to waste and no unnecessary pain added.
I guess fishing for me is just to retreat back to what feels right
Being in the present and just take it one throw at a time. Plenty of time to drift away in your own thoughts and decisions. Honestly, I think these kinds of repetitive tasks where I am forced just to be in my own thoughts are the ones I like the most. I guess that is also why I cycled around Europe.
Anyways, I think this little post got a bit drifted away. I just wanted to talk about my fishing trip but now it all got spoiled by me getting all philosophical instead.
Hope for those of you out there who are not by law locked in their homes take their extra time at hands to enjoy a bit the outdoors! It's certainly making all of this Corona crisis much more enjoyable for me.
Of course, don't forget to share your outdoors posts in our new hive community!
-holm