Fishing at the Lake

This is Zhou.  You say his name like “Joe” in English.  He’s had a long, tough week and is now recovering physically, mentally, and emotionally to face the week ahead.  For him, that means fishing at the lake.

How does fishing at the lake help him recover physically?  All week, every week, he is stuck at his desk, working in front of a computer, working with books, writing, typing, calling, reading, and he is stuck in the city, driving on the busy roads, breathing in the polluted air, seeing concrete walls and flashing lights, sitting, standing, waiting, surviving.  His body needs fresh air.  His eyes need a rest from the dull grays and the bright, unnatural lights.  He needs to be able to move around, get in a boat, row around the lake, cast his fishing rod. 

How does fishing at the lake help him recover mentally?  All week, every week, his brain is running from task to task, thinking of what must be done, thinking of what was done, thinking of what is getting done, figuring out, analyzing, brainstorming, wondering.  He always has to keep his mind focused and keep his thoughts under control.  Zoning off can be a huge waste of time.  Here he can let his mind wander.  Who cares if he thinks about whatever he feels like thinking about at the moment?  Standing on this floating dock, his mind gets an open playground to do whatever it feels like doing right now, wandering, pondering, exploring, disappearing. 

How does this fishing at the lake help him recover emotionally?  All week, every week, he deals with people on the phone, deals with people telling him what to do, deals with people who need to be told what to do, feels the stress of deadlines that need to be met, feels the doubt of projects that are risky, gets caught up in the rat race humanity has become, running, chasing, hurrying, worrying.  He lives far away from his family, and doesn’t get much emotional support. So he has the lake.  Here by the lake the only thing rushing him is the setting sun that inches down past the treetops and to the horizon telling him when he needs to go to bed.  It’s telling him that soon he shouldn’t do anything, quite the opposite of the week-long being told to quickly do lots of things.  Here his emotions, without the presence of other people, can recover, relaxing, enjoying, quieting, recuperating. 

This weekend, the weather is great.   There’s a handful of clouds in the sky, a beautiful orange sunset.  The fish are biting.  He’s already caught four fish that are keepers, and two that he threw back because they were too small.  There is a gentle breeze every now and again, which keeps the air feeling fresh, but not so much that things keep blowing into the water.

This is Zhou’s favorite fishing spot.  It’s a small corner of a big lake with very few people around.  There’s a launch for the rowboat for whenever he feels like getting some exercise and fishing from a new spot.  There’s the dock he’s on, with comfortable seating, a coffee table, a ladder for getting in and out of the water when swimming, a place to tie the rowboat to, and plenty of room for casting in any direction.  There’s the lake, which is quiet and calm, but since it’s fed by a large river, has plenty of fish.  The water gets very deep very fast, which is ideal for catching larger fish.  He’s far away from the sounds of the city, hearing only the birds, bugs, frogs, breeze, and the ripples on the shore.  He leaves his phone in the cabin.

Zhou usually drives out here on Friday night after work to return Sunday night.  It’s enough time to recover.  He has to make sure that he gets everything in order on Thursday evening or he’ll lose a lot of time.  Doing laundry, cleaning his apartment, and packing for the weekend all get done on Thursdays.  That way, he can head straight out and start fishing on the lake Friday evening before it gets too dark.  He took a friend with him once, but didn’t like it, so he always comes alone now.  By the time Monday morning comes around, he feels a bit bored, a little restless, and ready to take on the challenges that lie ahead of him again, and the week begins all over again.  Fishing at the lake is Zhou’s physical, mental, and emotional retreat.

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