I have seen a lot of jumping fish recently, or at least more than I usually would in a normal week. Yes, that’s a random statement, but please stick with me. I promise this is probably going somewhere.
For those who care to know, the interwebs suggest that they were most likely a type of mullet fish, but for the purpose of this train of thought I’ll be calling them jumping fish.
There were times when it seemed quite obvious why the fish were jumping. The appearance of a pod of dolphins, for example. However, at other times it seemed much more sporadic.
This unpredictability has led many a far-more-qualified individual to hypothesize as to why they leap in this way. Some think they may jump to remove parasites from their scales. Others say it may be to indicate their location to the rest of their school.
We may not know why they jump, but most likely, they are blissfully unaware of the excess of opinions on this one part of their existence.
That is not a judgment on those doing the hypothesizing. After all, their opinions come from a place of curiosity and a desire to better understand the world.
Of course, sometimes this curiosity can get us into trouble when we’re dealing with creatures a bit more complex than fish. We think we can see the full picture, but in truth, we’re only seeing what makes it to the surface.
We’ve all been on both ends of this the one with the curiosity and opinions and the one who is just breaking through the surf.
It’s not particularly great on either side, but there is a lesson to be learned no matter what side you find yourself on. On the one hand, your opinion is not their reality. On the other, their opinion is not your reality.
Admittedly, that second one always seems a bit more difficult for me to remember. Which brings me back to those jumping fish.
I like to think they just jump for the joy of it. After all, they jump for their own reasons and, it seems, without worrying about what those of us on the shore think those reasons might be. If that’s not joy, I don’t know what is.
Be Kind. Be Brave. Stay Awkward.
Onward & Awkward 