From a trip to the beach

A friend verbally shared this story with me over 16 years ago after she returned from a trip outside of the U.S. It has stuck with me over the years and it really speaks to me with its simplicity. It holds true to me in my place in life and it goes along well with the simplicity of Tenkara Fishing. So here goes…

The Fisherman on the Beach

It’s just past noon and a man is a walking along the beach when he comes upon another man sitting and looking out at the water. He walks up to him and greets him.
“Hello how are you today?”
“I’m good. It sure is a beautiful day!”
They both agree and they talk for a bit. Finally the man who found this other man on the beach asks him a question.
“So what are you doing?”
The man staring out at the water says, “Oh, I’m just sitting here and relaxing and staring out at the beautiful waves and sky and sun.”
“Um, no I mean what do you do for a living?”
“Ah, I’m a fisherman”
“Nice, so do you have the day off?”
“No, I was out fishing this morning and now I’m done.”

The man asking the questions seems a bit perplexed, and says, “You’re done?”
The fisherman says, “Yep. Isn’t it a great day. I just love the beach.”
The questioner still seems perplexed and asks more questions.
“Well, it’s still early in the day. You could be out catching more fish.”
The fisherman is now a little perplexed too.

“Why would I want to still be out there fishing?”
With some excitement the man begins to explain why.
“Well, if you’re out catching more fish, you could earn more money by selling the fish.”
The fisherman starts rubbing his head and asks, “Why do I need more money?”
At this the other man replies, “Well with more money, you could buy a bigger net and catch even more fish?”
“I just don’t understand. Why do I need more fish?”
“With more fish, you can get more money. Then maybe you could buy a bigger boat.”
“My boat is fine. Why would I need a bigger boat?”
“With a bigger boat, you could catch more fish and earn even more money. Eventually, you could earn enough money that you could hire other people to fish for you, so you could sit and enjoy the beach and the sun and the waves.”
The fisherman stands up and looks at this person who seems to have all these ideas about his life and says, “But I already am sitting and enjoying the beach.”