Think about this for a minute:

In ONE DAY we are exposed to more news, make and spend more money, make more decisions, meet more people, are exposed to more information, sort through more information, travel more miles, deal with more stressors, are exposed to more cultural quirks than our grandparents were in A YEAR.
In some cases more than they did in a decade.

Just the amount of news we are hit with every day is incredible. We are constantly judging what is right and what is wrong in order to make ethical choices, because what was considered by our society to be ethical yesterday may not be considered by our society to be ethical today - and we have to decide if we agree with society today or if we are going to stand against the social ethics du jour. And tomorrow we have to do it all over again.

Our grandparents knew, from their traditions, what was right and what was wrong - there were no shades of gray, there were no new factors, there were no decisions to make - it was doing what their ancestors had been doing for a half dozen centuries before. There was nothing to think about there. Society was stable.

This incalculable information/decision/stress barrage that we are subject to today has taken an incredible toll. All you have to do is look around at the absolute insane craziness everywhere to see that toll. We are surrounded and immersed in this craziness so much that we tend to forget just how purely insane it all is.

We need to keep perspective - this life we are leading is bat sh*t insane compared to the previous 99.9999999% of man's history.

Technology has taken us from hunter gatherer's always faced with starvation and early death - to where we are now faced with early death from an over abundance of food and security. And we are faced with an over abundance of information, creating an over abundance of decision making. Which creates an over abundance of stress, which creates an over abundance of crazy. We, and our society, are overloaded at all levels.

Technology is a two edged sword. We need to dial it back as a society. Probably won't happen until there is some huge cataclysm - but as individuals we can dial it back. It takes resolve and perseverance, but it can be done.

Today the earth is spinning on its axis and rotating around the sun the same way it did a million years ago, the same way it will a million years from now. Perspective, that's what is missing. Perspective is what we need to keep the insanity from infecting us.

Fishing is a positive action we take to regain and hold a true perspective on what is important in our finite lives. Fishing restores balance, brings peace of mind, and heals the stress torn psyche. Fishing is an answer to today's angst ridden world.

The only thing better than fishing - is more fishing.

> In ONE DAY we are exposed to more news

I fixed it -- cut my cable.


> make and spend more money

not if you take inflation into account

and etc.

But, yeah -- fishing is awesome.

Good write Lloyd. Thanks for sharing.

Fishing does help, so does spending a day with a young child. The simple pleasures of watching a child chase a butterfly or pick a flower. Watching a child play with a puppy....all these make me smile and realize there is still a lot of good in this world.

Hi Lloyd,

Great write. We all deal with this on a day to day basis. I agree with all you have said. Sometimes I find myself getting lost in the news and it's unfortunate. I have to step back and go fishing to get away from it. My best friend/fishing buddy is a Vietnam Vet (USMC) as I am a USMC Vet also, but a little younger. Just spending time with a good person is enough to relieve my stress and headaches.

It's sad how society has evolved to social media. My relief is to tune it out sometimes and go fishing as you said.

Best Regards

That is a very good and accurate description/ explanation. I agree and so does my doctor. Fishing releases more stress than any other activity I know of. Think about it: when fishing, what do you think about? Nothing but how to catch that fish. I recently took two friends out.I asked them afterwards if they felt relaxed. Both said- Now that you mention it, I did not worry or think about anything.

Good stuff! I like that commercial on the radio that says the 24-hour news cycle is more like 24-seconds.

I see what you're saying but the hunt for big blues sometimes makes me crazy. Easy to become obsessed/addicted to the point of missing sleep to fish all night on work nights. Called into work several times because I've got the sickness, bluecat fever. I might have a problem actually!!!

Love fishing but always remember. God has control. Thank God for Jesus Christ.