My brother-in-law lived near the ocean most of his life. Raised in California and having a career as a marine biologist pretty much sealed it. He loved to sail, and he fished as well. Shortly after he moved to Michigan with my sister after his retirement, he bought our uncle’s fishing boat. He was a lovely man. Intelligent, quiet, kind, but we all, including him I think, had an eye opening and funny moment the first time he ate Lake Michigan salmon. His response was, “This isn’t salmon.” And we’re like, “Yes, it is.” And he’s saying, “It can’t be.” And we’re like, “Yeah, it is.” He says, “It’s not salty.” I feel certain (it was some time ago) we all paused for a moment, then someone said. “Ah, that’s because Lake Michigan is freshwater not saltwater.” We have chuckled over that for a couple decades, but I found it quite thought-provoking. Recently, it came up in conversation again with one of my sons, and after something he said about how amazing it was that the fish absorbed the salt, I thought – “It really makes you think about how our environment affects us.”
That got me on to what we do and where we live and what or who we surround ourselves with. There are so many factors that we don’t have a lot of control over, like if we lived with limited means in our early years, we are more likely to be stingy with our things/money as we had little to spare (or make us very generous because we understand need). And if, later in life, our circumstances become more prosperous, we may retain that stinginess. (In part out of habit and in part out of fear of ever sliding into that kind of existence again.) Or if we tended to hang out with kids who get us in trouble a lot, we may learn to seek thrills, or be mean, or follow the “wrong” crowd. Did we have loving parents, absent parents, not-so-great parents? There are a million different influences in our life, training us to respond, react, and live a certain way. Some good, some not so good. Some we choose, some are foisted on us.
So, if you want, take a look at yourself. Who are you? Why are you that person? Is there anything that you might want to change? It’s a hard battle to change behavior patterns that are ingrained in us, but it can be done over time. Perseverance and commitment are key. But you are not alone. We could all use some dusting and cleaning out. Happy altering!
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