There has been a lot of bustle and activity these last few months as my family and I settle into our new home in Anchorage, Alaska. A visit from family prompted our first weekend trip. It was nice to get away and slow down.
I took time Sunday after mass to explore the docks of the marina and enjoy some quiet time with my camera. It was strange seeing an area primed for activity sitting silently in wait. There were a few fishermen about, making careful preparations for their next journey. I noticed the care with which each boat had been sealed up for the season.
Boats docked for winter in Seward, Alaska.
The boat named “Perseverance” caught my attention. Perseverance is a virtue fishermen know well. I remembered the opening verse in William Bennett’s chapter on perseverance in The Book of Virtues:
The fisher who draws in his net too soon,
Won’t have any fish to sell;
The child who shuts up his book too soon,
Won’t learn any lessons well.
If you would have your learning stay,
Be patient - don’t learn to fast;
The man who travels a mile each day,
May get round the world at last.
(Bennett, p. 529)
I also remembered Bennett’s call to ensure perseverance is cultivated with other virtues, such as practical intelligence. Bennett reminds his reader, “A person who is merely persistent may be a carping, pestering, irksome annoyance, having no salutary effect whatsoever. But given the right context, occurring in the right combination with other virtues, perseverance is an essential ingredient in human progress” (Bennett, p, 528). Persistence must be aimed at a true good.
The wise fisherman returns to the dock to rest. He cares for his boat, his nets, his tools and makes sure he is well supplied. This gave me pause. Am I directing all my activity towards that which is truly good? Am I allowing my persistence to be tempered by prudence? Am I taking time to prepare, to rest, and give thanks?
This pause, allowed me to carry these questions with me as I enter a season of gratitude and waiting. I am looking forward to the days ahead filled with family, and quiet domestic activity. I hope this time of rest and preparation will allow me to jump back in the world ready to persevere as long as I direct my activity towards that which is good.
A fisherman makes winter preparations in Seward, Alaska.
Work cited:
Bennett, William K., The Book of Virtues A Treasury of Moral Stories. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, New York, 1993