The Pursuit of Happiness



Here’s a story for you today:

A fisherman lying on the bank of a river was having a great time. He would cast his line into the gently moving water, and every now and then he caught some fish . He had his lunch and drink by his side as he sat in the shade of a tree. His stringer was getting heavy with the weight of the fish. 

He was bringing in another large fish when a well-dressed businessman drove up and came over to him. “Don’t you know that you could catch many more fish if you would put several lines in the water?” he asked. 

The fisherman replied, “Why would I want more fish?”

“Well, look, it’s simple,” the businessman said. “If you had more lines, you’d catch more fish and make more money. And then if you made more money, you could buy a fishing boat. Once you had that, you could open up a store and sell your fish to more people. After you open one store, you could then open more. You’d employ more people, and eventually you could become a fish wholesaler and ship fish all over the country. And then you would become very wealthy.”

The fisherman took a bite of his sandwich but looked skeptically at the businessman. “And then what would I do?” he asked.

“Well, if you’ve become that successful, you’ have all the time you wanted to do what you enjoy most. You could lie back, relax, and go fishing.”

The fisherman smiled and said, “But that’s what I’m doing right now.”

fisherman fishing taal volcano serenity

Right now— today— are we living life the way we know we want life to be, or driven by the pursuit of a life that we wish to live?

Right now— todayare we really living?

As we go about our work, may we always be able to tell the difference between trying to make a living and actually living. As we go about interacting with our spouses and children, may we always be able to tell the difference between trying to make a life and being able to give life.

I pray that we will be wives and mothers who are so full of life, that we cannot help but bring life to all that surround us. 🙂