The only thing certain about life on earth is that nothing is certain.
I take Conor for walks everyday this time of the year down to the golf course next to my house. I do it this time of the year because there are no golfers when it is this cold so its no problem to go walking there. There is a stream that meanders through the course, and we like to walk along beside it. I love to hear the sound of the water as it moves along the rocks, and I love to look for fish. Ever since I was a young lad growing up on the water, I have a knack for looking into water and seeing fish. If you ask Melanie she will tell you that I cannot walk by water of any kind without having to look for fish.
Anyway, months ago I found one area of this stream (pictured), that is about thirty feet long and in this particular area are always hundreds of little fish. It is very peculiar, because I see only an occasional fish in the entire rest of the stream…but this one little spot is full of them. Now they aren’t very big, maybe a few inches long, and I think they are baby Bass or Trout, but over the months I would see one that was three times as big as the other ones. There is always a big fish among the rest in life isn’t there?
Anyway, the story isn’t about the big fish anyway…it’s about the Heron. I go to this spot on the stream everyday so I can look at the fish while Conor walks around around smelling everything under the sun. A few days ago as I am approaching the stream I see a beautiful Heron flying away from the stream. These long necked, long-legged, long-beaked birds are quite graceful to watch fly despite there bizarre proportions. After seeing the Heron, I thought to myself, “I guess I’m not the only one who knows about the fish!”
As I came up to the stream, I looked in with trepidation, fearing the worst for my fish friends…and the worst of my fears was confirmed…there were but a few survivors left swimming around. The Heron had wiped out almost the entire population of fish (including the bigger ones). So what are the lessons?
* It’s great to be a big fish in a little pond, but there’s no place to hide?
* Enjoy life while you can because you never know when a big bird might eat you?
* A Heron can eat a lot of fish in a short period of time?
* Appreciate your family and friends because you never know when a big bird might eat them?
I think the true lesson is as simple as, you never know what can happen in the next second. Live life to the full and appreciate the people in your life….because you are only guaranteed the moment you are in.
