Healing and Fishing
Blog by: Lloyd Tackitt , TX 12/15/2013 (Return to blogs)
There are times in our lives when fishing is more than a favorite past-time. It can at times take on an emotional significance. I have found solace in fishing on too many occasions to name here. I've always found the relief I sought, when I needed it most, in fishing.
There are times when our souls scream in pain, or sorrow, and there are damn few ways to deal with those times. Being alone, really alone, completely alone is where I want to go during those times. I find that in fishing. Fishing provides a place where you are surrounded only by nature, a place where you fit in naturally, and a place for those psychic wounds to begin healing.
There are times that the healing process takes a long time. Sometimes it never completely heals. Finding myself again, getting centered in my world again, dealing with the things that I can not change, that often starts for me with being alone by fishing. And invariably, the fishing helps. It helps a whole lot. Emphasis on the whole in that sentence.
There are times that fishing has made me whole again. Sometimes in small ways that I might not have even been aware of. Of a tension release that I only recognize when the release happens. The kind of tension that sneaks up on me when I'm not paying attention. I didn't even know that I was tense, until I wasn't, swiftly recognized in it's passing. It's the experience of blending into the natural world, falling into its natural rhythms, leaving the worrisome thought cycles behind in the water,
There are times that we can help other people to find this healing. Every day we have wounded soldiers dealing with stresses we can't even imagine. Any psychic hell I've gone through is nothing, a cakewalk, by comparison. The young men and women that served us to the point of being physically and mentally mutilated, mind and body both, can use our help right now, and every day coming for decades, if not forever.
There are times that you can do something directly, very directly, to help. Donate to Project Healing Waters if you can. It doesn't have to be much, but even a dollar helps and it helps you by knowing you did something positive and direct to help. http://www.projecthealingwaters.org/
Blog content © Lloyd Tackitt
Comments
opencage
12.16.13 3:34 PM
This is an organization with a mission a lot of us can understand and get behind easily. Thanks for the reminder Lloyd.
skiman
12.17.13 6:36 AM
Lloyd,
On December 30th, last year, I lost my brother in-law to brain cancer. One of the last things he expressed wanting to do is ice-fish on a local lake. Unfortunately, that never happened. I can fully understand your want for solitude, escape, and the need to deal with the sorrow and pain.
I also understand the need to support our returning heroes. Out here in Colorado we have an organization called Rivers of Recovery that allows the returning wounded an opportunity to deal with their issues through peer counseling and guided fishing trips on the Arkansas River.
Thank you for your insightful writing.
Ski
Lloyd Tackitt (author, aka Lloyd Tackitt)
12.17.13 8:41 AM
I really admire the people that give their time and energy in these endeavors. It's so much better than just giving money, but for those of us who can't, for one reason or another, give time, money is certainly a great thing to give.
Neyet Stalker
12.18.13 7:47 PM
There are some things that only a great God can heal and that too is in Him!
About the Author
I live on the edge of the Brazos River. I walk out my front door and into the river and - boom - I am fishing just like that. For me the river is fascinating. The mile long stretch I fish is a microcosm of the river, I have it all in that one mile. Trying to figure out where the fish are, what they are doing, why they are doing it, what they are biting, if they are biting - this is what keeps me in the river casting flys. I fly fish almost exclusively. It isn’t that I am a fly fishing snob, it’s that fly fishing works – it’s effective - and it has added benefits. I carry all my tackle in a vest, no tackle box needs to be dragged along. The casting itself is fun, even when I don’t catch fish I’ve enjoyed the experience of casting. Fly rods enhance the experience of bringing fish in. I like the hands on the line feel instead of the feel of line spooling up on a reel and muted down through a gear and crank system. Fish fight better and feel better on a fly rod. Fly fishing just feels better to me than other methods.