The very essence of Christmas is centered on the hope that we can make ourselves and humanity better despite its many shortcomings. We want to reach our potential and fall softly on our goal. With childlike wonder we find ourselves awash in dreams of anticipation of a moment mapped out in our imagination.
The expectation of a Christmas moment is where the true essence resides. We follow a star. We set the stage, plan the menu, anticipate the arrival of our most beloved family, and guests.
We kick ourselves in the wallet searching for the perfect gifts to match the value of our greatest
relationships in life. Last year, I felt like George Bailey (minus the urge to bridge dive), struggling more than succeeding — but like George I realized the many blessings I have in life.
This year, I feel a bit like Ebenezer Scrooge mixed with the poet Jim Harrison and fly-fishing legend Flip Pallot. I grumble through the cold months following my last few fishing trips of the year. I view the world a bit more harshly—and like Scrooge the ghosts eventually steer me to joy just in the nick of time for Christmas. Just like Harrison I am starting to find my spirit rejoicing in nature –in sunrises, flights of birds, tailing fish, the smell of the sea, and gentle winds. Inspired by Pallot, I am finally appreciating peace in the moment, rejoicing in my best friendships, and time, the most precious of resources.
Fly-fishing has taught me many lessons, the top ones being the importance of expectations in life. The other is the importance of patience when allowing your back cast to unfurl. We need that same approach to life. Life seldom is made up of carefree casts—life gives us wind, tree branches, bad knots, and impatience.
The great Charles Dickens penned A Christmas Carol, my favorite ghost story. His beloved classic gave the reader a gift of witnessing the one-night transformation of a miserly old businessman. It shows us that with a little supernatural prodding from a deceased business partner, a trio of spirits from the past, present, and future—a soul can potentially change for the better.
Most of us do not have spirits banging on our bedroom doors (at least not on most nights) telling us how we can rescue our eternal souls. We must find our own motivation to improve.
The loss of the expectation of another day or another breath is perhaps the most frightening. We forget or ignore our own mortality. None of us know the time or place of our conclusion. We drive on, work ourselves ragged and take the world’s blessings for granted—while worrying over a few dark clouds that drift overhead.
Again, I think life is like a cast— it is best when I let it unfurl to its full potential. Do not rush it, force it, or overthink it. It is our hope that life will give us many casts. We should seek perfection on each cast but know that perfection is ever elusive to us all.
As a fisherman I tend to move away from the spots that do not produce, forget the days when fish refuse to bite and focus on what lies in the next bend of the river, ripple, or change of a tide. The next trip holds the most magic because the story is still unwritten. Hope resides there, dreams reside there.
It is the magic of expectation that makes life great.
In the week before Christmas we plan, sip our festive drinks, and try to act nice— we also hopefully look to a night sky and remember the hope for humanity that once peacefully slept in a manger under a radiant star.
As Dickens wrote, let us keep the spirit of Christmas in our hearts a bit longer this year—we all need it.
May the twinkle in the eyes of children and glistening nostalgia in the eyes of our elders give us greater expectations for the year ahead. Let us learn from the snags and tangles of 2022 and hopefully next year we will all be holding something more beautiful by the tail.
For a second we can smile in the moment and let hope flow into our heart like an incoming tide — then let it swim from our open hand.
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