Paul Arden | Friday, 13 January 2023
I’ve always found it interesting how people think differently from one another. I don’t mean that they have different beliefs, but that the structure behind their thoughts appears to be quite different. Now there are obviously many reasons for this and giving them a good clump around the head isn’t always going to work.
One of the reasons behind this is obviously language. We think in a language and the structure of each language and the nuances of the words themselves, is going to have a direct impact on how we think.
There are also people who appear not to think at all! They go through life only ever saying the first thing that comes into their heads. Of course there is some thinking behind this, but apparently not very much. Many people manage to go through their entire lives this way and can even become Presidents.
I’ve always found thoughts to be fascinating. Where they come from; how once you’ve cleared you mind of them, how they appear like bubbles emerging from volcanic mud. How we can then build upon them as they climb like balloons. And that’s not only magic mushroom talking either.
What is also interesting is how difficult it can be to change our thinking. Often people attach to their thoughts like they were a physical part of themselves, like an arm or a leg, when in fact perhaps their greatest attribute is that we can let go of the string holding the balloon with no lasting damage.
I’ve always thought that fly fishermen were “deep thinkers” on the whole. Preferring to spend time alone for hours, days or in some cases weeks or months alone at a time. Why would we do this? Well one attraction I believe is to spend long amounts of undistracted thinking time in our heads. Some of the recent discussions on the Board however make me question this as a general rule :)))
You might wonder how it’s possible to teach anything at all under such circumstances?! Fortunately when it comes to flycasting we can teach without using language at all.
Yesterday while walking past a bookshelf here in the cottage, I noticed Steve Parton’s Boatfishing for Trout which I will reread. Flicking through I found my version of the rudder locking system which nearly pulled off the transom!
Have a great day!
Cheers, Paul