I recently watched a documentary about the life cycle of the
salmon and it caused me to think how nature has a way of repeating itself and
actually mirroring other aspects of itself all at the same time. As I was
watching the show, I began to observe how the salmon could teach us humans many
life lessons about perseverance, determination, and the various aspects of
struggle. For in their journey
from fresh water to open seas and back, they are continually fighting against
obstacles for their survival yet they still find their way through the channel
of life where they desperately struggle against time to lay their eggs so that
their species survives and their task complete. I found that to be an interesting and at the same time
intriguing thought and certainly not much different from our own
experiences.
Man, too, since the beginning of time has struggled to fight
the odds so that he and his fellow man could not only survive but also prosper
and enjoy better times. There are
many challenges along the way that the salmon fight against yet they never give
up but rather seek creative ways to push onward as they regroup and begin again
to beat the odds. Sometimes they
win against the enemy, whether it is the bear, the birds or nature that is
often unpredictable yet they keep their focus towards their end goal.
During this documentary, I saw how erupting volcano’s or
changing channels of water that have dried up set them back yet when
one way was blocked another opened and surprisingly a new
source appeared—a miracle happened and then—a turn in the road led to a new
clue or opportunity and even a new beginning. Yes, I saw how it could manifest for the salmon and it
inspired me to fantasize and believe that that chain of events actually mirrors
the life of us humans. We often
fall into the crack in the walls of life and believe if only for one short
second that if we can find a glimmer of light, we, too, will find the courage
to survive and push forward.
Sometimes we give up and wither and die yet I have seen how most of the
time, we humans are survivors who refuse to give up.
The movie proved that the life of a salmon is difficult at
best with all of it challenges, preys laying in wait and nature at its worst
yet in the end, many beat the odds and reach their final destination so that
the cycle can begin anew.
Somehow I believe that one small piece of life, of existence represents
the whole of life and existence.
For we all experience difficult times that are often challenging, that
cause us to feel desperate and completely hopeless when all of a sudden a
miracle appears and the light peers through sufficiently to give us hope and
the confidence to continue.
The message received is we are not alone and that there is a
force of God, of nature that opens up and shows us the way if and when we are
open to follow the clues. Like the
salmon, man is creative and resilient.
We can keep going—we can continue to seek and find even though we know that
there is no guarantee that we will in the end survive. The only thing that we can be sure
about is that at the end—we each leave a legacy that will be our gift to those
who follow. We nurture them with
our stories, our roots and our cultures.
Some of us don’t make it or unfortunately fall short of our goals yet---
once again—we continue to push forward in the hopes that even one small
achievement will be sufficient for us to allow the next generation to take
notice—push forward and do what we did—teach a lesson about life that others
might not only follow but learn from.
You see at the end of the day we are simply ordinary people
who have the ability to do extraordinary things by the mere fact of simply
being on earth. I hope that gives
you some food for thought.
Joan
Marie Ambrose
Author,
Creative Writer, Motivational Speaker
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