Too Long

When was the last time you stood in the frigid cold and watched in awe as the heavens slowly burned a crimson red? Can you remember where you last sat in silence, letting the crisp rustle of leaves or the flits and flutters of a chickadee fill your mind? Does your body recognize the relentless pull of icy water attempting to knock you down, building pressure before rushing past you in a torrent of twists and turns? How long have your hands gone empty, void of the writhing, twisting lifeblood of another being, just before replacing it in the light current of an eddy.

For too many of us, the answer is always “too long”. Too long have we sat idle, waiting for opportunity to meet us instead of us searching for it. Too long have our waders, and rods, and flies sat unused, only capable of providing memories instead of creating them. For too long we have ground out each day, with the hopes of returning to the water keeping us going, only to tell ourselves “maybe later”. And for too damn long we have been entrapped by our devices, attracted by the artificial glow like the insects we’d rather be imitating.

Make those opportunities, claw back your freedoms, reject the pull of those screens. If not today, when? Tomorrow is never a guarantee.