The circle of life

Yesterday at the ward conference I was attending, the elders quorum president read this little story which I rather liked. I spent a couple minutes trying to track down its original source, but so far it seems to be anonymous. If you know who wrote it, please let me know! I’ve also taken a few small liberties in revising it to make it flow more to my liking. (But I’m going to be late for work if I don’t get this posted quickly, so I didn’t spend that much time on the editing. Oh well.)

Anyway, here it is, courtesy of the Unknown Author, with my own title attached:

The Circle of Life

The American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

“Only a little while,” said the fisherman.

The American scratched his chin. “Why don’t you stay out longer? You could catch more fish that way.”

“I have enough to feed my family,” said the Mexican. “I don’t need more.”

The businessman then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, and stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.”

The American scoffed. “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, and eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, both processing and distribution. You would be able to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then L.A., and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”

With raised eyebrows the Mexican fisherman looked down at his boat. “But how long will all this take?”

“Fifteen to twenty years,” said the businessman.

“But what then?”

The American laughed. “That’s the best part,” he said. “When the time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions.”

“Millions,” said the Mexican. “Then what?”

“Then you would retire,” said the American. “You would move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your children, take siesta with your wife, and stroll into the village each evening where you would sip wine and play guitar with your amigos.”

Regardless of what the world says, it’s not all about the money. Man, I want to be that Mexican fisherman. :)

You do, eh? Ben, you wine sipper!!!

I love that!

Barney: Mum’s the word on that, eh. :P

Amy: Good. :)

Talk to me in 20 years.

The fisherman lived in a fishing village, and I dare say that the economy of living was different and that would suffice there. The reality is, everything costs more here. It takes money to buy a home and maintain it. It cost money to have babies, to feed them, to cloth them, to insure them. We have been asked to tithe, to give generously of our time and substance, to save, and more.

I am not talking about selling your soul for the almighty dollar, but the importance of preparation, working wisely, and understanding
the real costs of family.

I grew up in Hawaii. I dated a guy when I was in my youth. We spoke of marriage. The downside? He wanted to do leather work, and honest occupation. He had no drive. No foresight into the costs of raising a family. He was a boy, playing at life. He was not a man, ready for adult responsibility. He would have been happy to live in the fishing village of Laie, where he grew up, and if we could not meet bills, I could go to work. No thanks. I told him to straighten up and fly right or get out of my life. We had dated for 1 1/2 years! It was one of the hardest decisions I ever made, and the wisest. He walked out of my life. At the time, it hurt. It was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Today I am active have a wonderful marriage of 30 years and a faithful posterity. He is not active. He has struggled most of his life. That is real stress. No life is not about money, however, try to live in America, as a righteous priesthood holder, raising a large family, providing for your wife to stay home and teach your children, without it. Even the prophet has been counseling the youth to prepare and get all the education you can get, so you can be useful to society and they will pay you what you are worth.

Ah, but this story isn’t about money or economics. It looks like it on the surface, yes, but the core of the story is about the same thing as my Love over logic post: following your heart. It’s about making joy a part of your life now, not in some vague future that may never come. It’s about being satisfied with less. It’s about what matters most in life.

Of course a father has to provide for his family. That’s a given. But I think that all too often people settle for less than they deserve, not in terms of money, but in terms of happiness. People ought to have a job that they love. Period. Yes, economic conditions may make that difficult, and a lack of education may be a temporary obstacle, but there’s no real reason why we should let any of that stop us. Life is too short to be stuck doing something you hate.

Ben,

That is why I do what I do.