At 6am yesterday morning I had thought I would be packing my bags to return to Phoenix after spending a lovely extended week in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. By 7:30am I had decided to scrap Plan A and go deep sea fishing with friends. I'd never been deep sea fishing before, which was my rationalization at staying yet one more day.
We piled into the cars and drove down to Puerta Aventura where we had chartered a boat for the day. As we headed out, the choppy water threw us up and around and most of us were feeling more than a little queasy. I thought to myself, "What the hell have I just signed up for? FOUR HOURS of THIS?!"
As we headed out the water eventually became calmer, and I came to realize that this was more than a waiting game. Boredom began to creep in. The gentle rocking of the boat began to make me sleep so I closed my eyes. We were all pretty quiet when all of a sudden our captain, Nacho yelled out and our Mariner, Jorge, jumped into action. We had a fish on the line! Everyone gathered around Trisha who was our first in the seat. That was the first time I learned that there is a rhythm to deep sea fishing. When you let the line out, you reel the fish in and breathe. Then you pull back slowly...if there's too much pressure on the line, you can ask for help. Then repeat...eventually the fish comes close enough and he/she is yours!
The day only increased in excitement. I was next in the seat and it happened so fast I barely had time to understand I was up to bat! I had no idea turning a reel was so damn hard. I turned & turned until I thought my hand was going to explode. Everyone was cheering & yelling & I wanted to be strong, but I could feel myself slipping. I cried out, "Ayude Me!" or "Help Me!" & the next thing I knew my friend, Beth, was right there. She shouted encouragement, inspiration & helped me with the dang pole. I struggled, I worked, my brain was exploding with self-doubt & kept saying, "I can't, I can't...." And then, just when I thought I couldn't do this another minute, it was there! My fish! It was bigger than I could have ever imagined.
I'll be writing about this for awhile...the metaphors are simply too delicious. In the meantime, here's what I learned from a Marlin:
1. Stop planning & just make a decision to do something you've never done before.
2. Life is like fishing. You just keep moving, follow the signs and enjoy the moment.
3. Patience can make you nauseous, but once the action starts there's nothing better to ease your stomach & clear your ehad.
4. Outrageous success may involve hard work, and you don't have to do everything all by yourself.
5. You can give up, or you can ask for help.
6. Life is best lived...living! Get out of your head & into your life!
7. When your success is bigger than you can handle...get help in holding it up for the camera.
p.s. I found out that there are 3 types of "Billfish" that inhabit the waters where we were. Blue Marlin, White Marlin & my fish, which is called Bella Pescada. "Beautiful Fish."
I encourage you to now get off the computer & go get your Marlin.
