Sometimes two words can carry an encyclopedia of meaning between two people. Between the Hero Hubs and I, the words “Greek Fisherman” are a phrase that speaks volumes.
There’s a tale you may have heard, of an old Greek fisherman who lives in a little house near the sea. He wakes up early every morning, fishes for a few hours, brings home his catch and sells it at the market, has lunch and enjoys an afternoon siesta with his family, eats dinner and plays with his children and goes to bed beside his wife every night. The next day, the routine starts over again.
One day an American businessman visits his village, tastes his fish and is immediately inspired with a business plan for the Greek fisherman. “This fish is amazing!” he says. “You know what you need to do? You need to buy more boats, and hire some help. Then you can catch more fish, and sell more fish!”
“And then what?” asks the Greek fisherman.
“And then you can use that money to buy bigger boats until you have a fleet of boats fishing for you!”
“And then what?” asks the Greek fisherman.
“And then you can use that money to retire early!”
“And then what?” asks the Greek fisherman.
“And then you can do whatever you like! Get up early in the morning, go fish for a few hours, come home and have lunch and siesta with your family, eat dinner and play with your children and go to bed with your wife.”
Doesn’t make much sense, does it?
What is all this putting a knife to your throat talk about?
Well, there will always be people who have more than we do. Those folks with those clothes and those cars and those vacations and all. the. things.
And it will be hard for us not to want those things. And not to try to do what it takes so that we can also be like those people. And have all those things, too.
But this is the admonition: don’t be deceived into thinking that once you have all the things, life will be good. That’s a rough path with a dead end. Don’t work too hard trying to get rich. Show that you’ve got enough wisdom not to fall for that!
What’s the answer, then? What do we do instead?
Greek Fisherman, friends! Greek Fisherman.
If we’re not happy with what we have now, we probably won’t be happen, even when we have more. Because someone else will always have more. When will enough be enough?
Instead, like the Greek Fisherman, we can learn to be content. Give thanks for what we have. Instead of chasing riches we can learn to recognize and enjoy the riches we already have.
There is so much wisdom in trying to carefully make choices that will serve you and those you love well now, rather than working excessively in hopes of an early retirement or some other dream-come-true later on.
Slow down enough to live this day and enjoy it.
What will you do with the 86,400 seconds you have today? Are you living with what’s most important to you at the forefront?
Let go of the American dream, if it’s stopping you from enjoying the Greek fish that are already on your table.
Last week I shared that following me on Instagram, liking/sharing on Facebook, subscribing to my emails and sharing them with friends are ways of supporting me as a writer who is WEEKS away from pitching a book proposal.
So many of you friends blew me away by sharing, liking, following and encouraging me again and again. Thank you so much. Publishers look at numbers and care about engaged audiences, so these small actions truly are a gift to me! I continue to pray these words will find you at the right moment and bless your heart. xoxo, Caroline
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