Everyone knows or should know, that life began in our oceans. As plant life stretched up onto land, an opportunity presented itself. Suddenly there was food up there. There was already air and warmth, but now food? Who can resist? The fish, or something like fish, began to push themselves out of the water. Pushing further and further, taking trips on the shore. Staying longer and longer. Until one day, something came up out of the water never to return. Soon the fish will forget what it means to be a fish because they are not fish anymore. That’s how a fish becomes a man.

We think of this as a process that takes thousands if not millions of years, and for evolution it does, but we didn’t get here without having a few tricks of our own. The human mind is an adaptation engine. Don’t believe me? Have you had any friends or family join the military? Not all of them, but most of them come back as different people for better or worse. Maybe not as extreme as a fish becoming a man, but a teenager becoming a soldier is no small feat. They may not always be a soldier, but most will have lessons from that experience that follow them the rest of their lives.

The same is true for almost anything. When you want change in yourself, don’t sit in the pond trying to change, throw yourself out of the water, don’t try to change. Let your mind relax, go with the flow, and take lessons back from your excursion.

I feel like I did something like that myself recently, and I’m better for it. I’ve been a better writer, father, and husband. When I was out of the water, I said yes to pretty much everything. I relaxed myself into a whole other scene and community, and I took lessons from that. I couldn’t have foresaw the impacts it would have and even now, I can’t fully describe those impacts. It’s a vibe, a feeling. I’m trying not to hold onto it. Holding onto things means you can let them go too. I am trying to just be. And lately, being is pretty good.

Quote of the Moment:

“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.”

― Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

Current Reads:

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson