This is a chapter from my seventh book called Bookeh - Through the lens of a Trinidadian photog
"Many men go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after" - Henry Thoreau. This is deep and is the quote I came across while I was thinking about what would be this chapter and photo. Deep as the deepest seas. I had this idea for "fish in grass" and this was the aftermath of my art installation and the rain. At the same time I came across the term "fishing in grass" for doing something that is useless. I was in a reddit thread discussing the Thoreau quote and one redditor says, "I personally took it as a pursuit of money. People pursue money without realizing that everything they enjoyed in life was not the money itself." Another person replied with a quote, "It is money they have and peace they lack." I asked my friend Gemini to add to this to help me further add meaning and understanding to this.
After being on this planet for forty four years I can say with confidence that money does not buy happiness. We need money to make a living but that is about it. There is happiness in contentment and peace of mind. There is beauty in simplicity. There is joy in appreciating the small things in life which in actuality are the bigger things in life. We may think the grass is greener on the other side. We may think the fish is more on the other side but I think we would be wrong. I want to be grateful for what I have now. For where I am now. For the things that I can do now. I do not have it all but I appreciate all that I have. We are told that the grass is greener where we water it. An attitude of gratitude takes effort. Finding meaning in life takes effort. Wisdom comes with effort. And we are never done. We always have to work to keep the grass green. We are always working to be better versions of ourselves. The two things that fuel this effort are love and kindness.
I go fishing for answers and it seems like the answer is always love. I found this African proverb and I absolutely love it. "Love, like rain, does not choose the grass on which it falls." Love does not discriminate. Love is for everyone. Unconditional love. The people who we feel are the hardest to love are the most in need of love. My friend Gemini thinks that that is a beautiful African saying. It is a powerful reminder that love is a universal force, not something we can control or limit. Just like rain, it falls on everyone, regardless of their worthiness or our personal feelings. Maybe and truly the grass is greener where we love it. As Bob Marley has said and I have quoted before, "Love the life you live. Live the life you love."
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