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sramirez652

Just Sharing... Why I'll Never Be "That Guy."



Recently I've seen an uptick in the usual macho posts from wannabe warriors and armchair commandos who blabber about war as if it were some noble cause... but in the end, there is nothing noble about killing each other, when we could just come together and work things out.

Anyone who has seen violent death, as I have, knows that in the end nobody is very tough - their just dead... and its a waste.


Testosterone and machismo has caused a lot of suffering and waste as does blindly following any fixed ideology.


The universe doesn't care about anyone's ideology.

We're all in this together.


Even as an angler, I'm not the least bit macho.

I don't care about being "out fished."


That only matters if I have to fish for food and for survival and then, let me tell you, I won't be using a #16 Adams.


I don't believe in turning life and living into a competition.

I want it to be a conversation.

I want to build connections.


I want to fish with people who cheer for each other and help each other, and also, cheer for the fish.

I want to enjoy the sound of the river, the wind in the trees, and then birds singing their melodies of love and hope.

And, I don't want or need every bit of gear that's known to man or woman... just what it takes to get me on the water connected to fish, and friends, and feelings of gratitude.


I'm going to tell you a few things about me - not because I matter or because I think anything I've done is "impressive" ... but because it will make a point.


I was a member of one of the most "elite" units in the U.S. Marine Corps during my time. I carried a weapon and came face to face with evil many time over 35 years... and nothing about it was glorious.


I've done many things and undergone many adventures.

I've ridden bulls on the rodeo circuit, dived deep beneath the ocean's surface both day and night through sunken ships and underwater caves, I've hunted across North America and Africa, and I've trekked across four continents from Africa's Kilimanjaro to Peru's Salkantay, to Scotland's Carrighorm Mountain where so many people have frozen to death in the past.

And I'm still going...so far, so good.


But absolutely nothing I've chosen to do was intended to be "macho."

In fact, everything I do supports my sense of humility and impermanence.


Everything I do and experience reminds me of how fleeting and insignificant my life is - except what I can do to help this world - even a little.


I don't value a fishing trip by the size or number of fish caught as much as the richness of the connection I felt with Nature and the Best of Human Nature.


Please don’t get me wrong… I love catching fish but even moreso, I love finding my Tribe.


And by pushing myself out of my comfort zone, again and again, I'm not trying to "prove" anything to anyone - I'm trying to keep learning about life and living and gratitude and giving.


So the next time you see a "macho man" gripping and grimacing over a huge gasping fish, a lifeless but wide antlered deer, or tricked out semi-automatic rifle in an attempt at glorifying the act of killing or as if it was an extension of his masculinity... have a good laugh as I do because laughter is good for the soul...


... but also, feel a little sad because that sadness is a recognition of how far we have to go as a species and how beautiful this world could be if we had the wisdom and the courage to go there.


I must confess... I will never be,

or want to be -

that guy.

And,

I'm fine with that...



Bold Yet Humble Love is the Bravest Thing I Know...

Be Brave Y'all...

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