Have you ever wondered why fish school and quickly shift all together in another direction?
The last week of February 2012 found me experiencing this year’s Leap Day in the Florida Keys. Yes, it was splendid. Our base was a rented home in Marathon. For four days we rented a Boston Whaler-looking boat and proceeded nine miles into the Gulf of Mexico and anchored around a sunken boat where fish were known to school.
To lure the fish, my husband Rick put out what is called “chum.” We waited and soon little fish called pinfish came for the chum. They in turn brought the bigger fish. After one particular catch, Rick made a comment about the fish’s black line running from fin to tail. “Feel how strong its lateral line is.”
Lateral lines are tubes that run lengthwise along the sides of a fish. They act as a three-in-one system that is much like having a set of eyes, ears and sensory perception contained in one unique sense organ. Fish use lateral lines to school, sense pressure, predators, prey and current.
Humans don’t have lateral lines running head to toe that cause us to move corporately and all at once through life. We are unique creatures in that we have the ability to remember and plan our futures.
We connect with one another, not by lateral lines but communicating through all of our senses. We make a life and tell stories that tell people who we are. We are individual. Unique. And in that uniqueness there is power. In their book, The Power of Uniqueness, Arthur F. Miller, Jr. and William Hendricks explore how we might respond to our environment. Some of us we are motivated to learn, but in order to stimulate that learning we need “an external factor.” That factor might be a teacher, a coach, a mentor or a neighbor. That person possesses the key that unlocks our learning.
And once the windows are opened as to how we learn, we are free to go into the way we must.
Whether you are planning your BlessBack or have recently given one, I’d love to hear the stories of your unique life and the illuminators who made you aspire to be the person you are today. Contact me on this Web site’s homepage at https://juliesaffrin.com/contact/ or tell your BlessBack story on BlessBack’s fan page at https://www.facebook.com/BlessBack?sk=wall.
About Julie Saffrin
Julie Saffrin is the author of numerous published articles and essays. Her latest book, BlessBack: Thank Those Who Shaped Your Life, explores the power of gratitude and offers 120 creative ways to journey toward positive, lasting change.
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