Last weekend after a snowstorm, I took a walk down the river and lakefront. The setting was truly surreal. In a city as big as Chicago, it was incredible that I walked for almost four miles without seeing a soul. When eventually I did happen upon someone, it was a lone fisherman. I stopped to ask him if he had caught anything, a question lead to a lengthy conversation on all things fishing. (Did you know that apparently there are Pink Salmon in Lake Michigan? Or that you can fish without ever having to touch the fish?)
While we talked, I noticed that every once in a while, he would stir his string, so that the water wouldn’t freeze over the hole and trap the string. It was a true art form. If he moved the string too often, the fish wouldn’t bite. But if he didn’t move it at all, he wouldn’t be able to get the fish out.
I couldn’t help but pull a metaphor out of this strange scene. How do you know when you need to stir the string in life to keep from getting stuck? How do you know when opportunity is just about to bite and keep the string still? I’m certainly not wise enough to answer this question. But, still it’s worth thinking about.
As I continued on my walk, the fisherman, as if he had read my thoughts, called after me, “Don’t get stuck out there!”











