Yesterday I was sitting in my favorite coffee shop working and drinking a heavenly café latte and getting some writing done. It’s a funky, artsy coffee shop frequented by the locals in my town, and after almost three years, I am a regular there myself.
One of my coffee buddies stopped on his way out and said, “You are working hard today…” and we chatted a bit about the weather (rainy) the coffee (extra good today) and other comfortable small talk. “What do you do?” he asked me.
“I write books. And I am spiritual coach of sorts,” I said.
He’s an older gent and a little hard of hearing. “A fishing coach?” His eyes lit up. Now that sounded like something good to him. And we live in an old fishing town in Rhode Island so there are a lot of fishermen of all sorts here. “A SPIRITUAL coach…” I said. He deflated a bit and shuffled off. “Same thing, right? If you want to connect with God and your spirit, just go fishing!”
I laughed into my latte and agreed. It does sound like a good way to connect. It’s a very meditative process, fishing… It made me think about Jesus and his calling to become “fishers of men.” Fishermen cast their nets into the depths of the ocean to bring nourishment to their communities and we as spiritual leaders and practitioners today can reach into the depths of human consciousness to bring up enlightenment, healing, and empowerment.
I am actually pretty afraid of deep water. There is something so primordial about those unknown depths that goes right to my hind brain. It knows that there be monsters in those depths. I feel the same way about deep space and the cosmos too…Perhaps that is why we need to plumb those depths deep within us. Maybe spiritual fishery is really about reaching into the depths of our consciousness.
Anyways, it was some pretty deep thoughts for a Monday morning coffee session. Maybe I will try fishing and see what arises… if you will pardon the pun!
