The overwhelming experience of fly fishing is Mystery. It deals with the Unseen, with what lies in the invisible dimensions beneath the shimmering, rippling surface of an ever-changing mountain stream. It exercises every ounce of imagination and can bypass conscious awareness for extended periods. Fly fishing is an open doorway into the unconscious. After all, one is often standing waist-deep in water, which is a mighty symbol of the unconscious mind. There is no way to rush this process: One must STAND in the Mystery. ... In order to be a decent fly fisherman, on must BECOME the fish ... To enter Trout Mind means giving up the self. ... Landing a trout provides a great opportunity for nonattachment: thanking and blessing the fish, and releasing her.
Traveling light—imagine this
meaning: unencumbered journeying,
a graceful way of traveling through
life like a single leaf. Now imagine
another: the light by which we
journey, the light that shows the way.
Our traveling light...
What would it mean to live like a
single leaf? What would it mean to
make one’s life a journey of
simplicity? a journey unencumbered,
uncluttered, without distraction—a
journey of focus and intention? a
journey of lightness and light?...
We take delight in things; we take
delight in being loosed from things.
Between these two delights, we must
dance our lives.
