Savouring The Flavour of Life

To The Lake

It was a sun-filled morning. Classic forever blue heaven above me. It was then I decided while looking out the screenless window that I shall drive to a lake. It wasn't as spontaneous as it sounds. I had just been camping no more than a week before. (Which, much to my dismay, wasn't as relaxing nor enjoyable as it could have been - lousy company) Anyways I decided to drive to a small lake I once disliked.

First Independent Boating Trip Gone Wrong

I had gone there years ago for my first independent boating trip. I rolled up to the little lake, so excited that I had just loaded the boat by myself and unloaded it into the water. Although I stood starboard on the boat, I noticed that the water was like glass. My first cast in the water, a vicious bite at my bait, and I reeled in a large pike. Should I have noticed I was the only one on the water? This seemed odd yet nice at first. Until I realized the lake had contaminated fish advisory. Every cast may have caught me a fish, but they had a cauliflower-like growth on their bodies.

When I got back to shore, of course, I was shamefully embarrassed to see a huge gigantic billboard with a warning about the contamination. From then on, I never went back. Until an old friend who used to get me to watch his RV on cold winter nights; moved near this same lake. He went on to tell me that the lake had been completely emptied years later, and it was now stalked with trout. Turning out to be one of the best local fishing holes in the area.

Years & Years Later

I had even gone on that same friend's boat at the beginning of summer. His rod saw some action as comical as that phrase sounds. He caught three decent-sized rainbow trout. Catch and release. Nonetheless, it was an exciting fishing excursion for three kids and me. It was nice to be spontaneously invited on that occasion. It's always a delight when someone out of the blue thinks of you and not for a booty call.

The Present Is A Gift

Anyways I drove there. Straight there. With the windows in my car, all rolled down; the sunroof too. Sun was shining in and shinning through the vehicle like bright rays of freedom with a side of fresh air. It was heart-racing to feel the wind and the music vibe through me as the radio blasted on my drive to the lake.

I was zooming along the only curvy roads for hundreds of miles. In and among the flats just before the Rocky Mountains begin. And there I parked. I pulled my rod out of my car and took a deep breath. This was reclaimed time in a sense. My independence was alive again. Maybe not with a boat, but again I went to conquer that same once contaminated lake. I walked onward to the dock, power bait in hand. Baiting my hooks on my rig and tossed my line in. My five barring rod felt smooth in the day's breeze.

The water a ripple. Only a few fellow voyagers and a blow-up boat near the water. I was complete in solitude. I want us to reflect in our own lives if we take the time to capture every detail of every pleasant moment possible. Each of us can take an objective look at the world around us and savour the flavour of life.

So there I was on the dock with my rod in the water. A black-headed loon sleekly emerged from the water a mere few meters away from me. I could see her ring of white on her neck and black and white freckled back, beading pelts of water off her feathers with a shack. A monarch butterfly flew forward toward the open water; it would have seemed like the sea to that butterfly. Thrusting its wings, stroking up and down, a black and bright yellow radiate from its flapping wings. It quickly realized it was a long fleet to venture forward and swiftly turn back towards the shore.

The Sound of Nature

The sound of harmonic birds twittered in my ears. Sharp and clear. Dressing the salad of trees with the grace of music. And a buzz of a bee whistled by. I could see a little black and red bird nestled by the water. The sun was shining down on me. And I realized it's a moment like this that people need.

True Freedom

We need tranquillity in our lives enough if it's just for a half-hour. If I could lend a hand to your soul, I would assist by saying, please indulge in the moments that make you happy, marinate in them. Thrive to make every moment memorable; most of all, look at all things as beautiful and unique. Pay attention to details and never take for granted the little things in life. Sometimes those little moments will be something comforting to look back on. If we buzz through like and forget to look around, we forget what matters. The world around us is what we make of it. Glow every second possible. Don't regret letting life pass you by. It's delicious if you reach out and take a bite.

Opal