Consider the Salmon

Have you ever thought about the Salmon? I don't mean from a "health food" perspective, I mean from a "life view' perspective. If you don't know what I mean, Salmon are the fish that leave the ocean to swim against the currents of the rivers so that they can spawn, or recreate. That has to be one amazing journey, if you think about it. In fact, the journey of a salmon can teach us a lot about life and what life should be like. 

Yes, the guy who often tells you to learn from watching how children grow and develop is now telling you to learn from observing how a salmon lives. What can I say? I am finding hidden treasures everywhere.

Anyway, consider the salmon's journey. They actually swim upstream, up waterfalls, over rocks, and through grizzly bear traps for one purpose: To create life. A salmon's whole life culminates to this one event, usually their last event. Think about it. They grow and develop out in the ocean. Then one day, when they are called, they set out on the journey of a lifetime, all for the purpose of creating. 

Here is the lesson: Salmon don't exist. They live. They have a purpose, and they let NOTHING stop them from pursing their purpose. They don't know how to settle for less than their purpose. 

If a lowly salmon (a fish)  lives in such a way, a way of perseverance and triumph, shouldn't we as humans strive to live for our purpose as well? Shouldn't we fight against all odds to create, to engage, to live? If a salmon doesn't settle for existence, should we settle? No. We should strive to live much like the salmon. We shouldn't settle for less than our given purpose: To create and to live. Yes, you were made to create. I don't know what you were made to create, but you have something to offer. You have something to give. You have a life that was made to live, to be a spark that adds to the world, not takes from the world. 

Salmon swim up waterfalls. That would be utterly impossible if you did not know for a fact that salmon can do it. Salmon don't know impossible, they don't know quit. They only know desire and effort. They only know success born out of intense passion and purpose. In our world, we have taught ourselves how to settle. We have learned to "go with the flow. " Please understand, dead things go with the flow. Dead branches and leaves float downstream. It takes no effort to go with the flow. Any dead thing can float down stream. LIFE swims upstream. Whatever your purpose is, whatever your creative contribution is, it lives upstream. Life is inside the journey of swimming upstream, up waterfalls. over rocks and through bear traps. 

Is there something inside of you begging to swim upstream, a "call of the wild"?  Is there a life hidden for you that is waiting to be revealed, to be lived? If you are not swimming upstream, you are not living. You are settling and you are dead. If you are not satisfied with your life, if you want more, wake up and fight the current. Start swimming upstream and live your life. Fulfill the purpose that only you can fulfill. Create something you were made to create. Consider the life of the salmon.

Health Tie-In Alert 

In case you were wondering, "what in the sam-hill does this have to do with health and movement?" Well, this has everything to do with health and movement. In our world, it is easy to get pulled downstream and let the apathy of our surroundings drown us. It is easy to sit and do nothing. It is easy to say things like, "when you get older, things just fall apart", or "I know I need to be healthy, but I just don't have the energy to go for a walk." Thoughts like that are simply The Raging River of Physical Death pulling you downstream to drown you. After all, if you get drowned, you cannot create, you cannot live, you cannot make the world a better place. 

The truth is, you were made to swim upstream. You were made to add to this world. There are many "rivers" in our lives. All of them will try to pull you under and keep you from the top of the mountain, from your purpose.  There is a raging river of physical death and it's sole purpose is to keep you lazy, sick, obese, hurt, fearful and immobile. Why? Because it is hard to create, to give life and to live life, when you are not healthy. It is hard to love others and contribute to society when you are consumed by your own sickness, your own infirmities, and your own inabilities. One of the secretes to fulfilling your purpose, to creating life, is to walk around in health. When you feel good, you have the strength, energy, and creativity to change the world. When you feel good, you can easily love and give to others. This is why it is so important to swim against the current of physical death and apathy. 

I know this is a bit "out there", but this message is the truth: You were made to move, to be strong, to live and to create. You have a purpose. You cannot fulfill your purpose, you cannot truly live, if you allow yourself to settle; to simply float or sink with the currents of this world. Just like the salmon, you must learn how to swim up waterfalls. It is not impossible. You were made to swim up life's waterfalls. 

I challenge you to get up right now and go for a walk. As you walk, consider the life of a salmon. If a fish can do something so amazing, how much more could you do?