A few weeks ago, I went to a prawn-cum-fish farm for prawning with a bunch of friends in Pasir Ris. It was pretty rustic and charming, and was pretty isolated from civilisation. However, I didn't expect much of the trip and was all prepared to be bored senseless while waiting for the prawns to attack the bait. I was kinda forced to go for this trip, so I had no choice but to show my face that day or face the wrath of many people.
You see, I always wondered who would actually go fishing, be it prawn or any other seafood, in this day and age, especially for leisure? In the past, yes, I wouldn't be surprised since there was little entertainment for our parents and grandparents and this was one of them. But in today's society, with the television, PSPs, XBoxes, arcades and the all-powerful and encompassing Internet, why do we need to do something like that?
As we waited for what seemed like forever for something to bite, we ended up chatting with each other and fellow prawn-hunters, which was something I would never have done had I been doing something else such as queuing or waiting for something. It dawned upon me that perhaps this was one of the many little things that I, like many people, have missed in our daily pursuit of everything that we deem important to us, like earning as much as possible, securing that place in that prestigious school for our kids, and generally rushing from place to place.
Why don't we slow down a little, catch our breath, and listen to the birds chirping in nature, the quiet stillness of the trees in the forest and cut ourselves some slack? I guess I never fully appreciated the little things in life until I saw a little girl go slack-jawed at the fish her grandpa had caught at a fish pond near us. The fish was slightly larger than average, but to her, maybe due to her smaller frame, it probably seemed enormous. We might have scoffed at the catch, but to the little girl, her grandpa was probably her hero for wrestling with the big and slimy aquatic creature.
For the record, we caught 4 big prawns in 2.5 hours using 3 rods. Extremely pathetic in terms of quantity - this I must wholeheartedly agree - but in terms of quality of the atmosphere, it was pretty worth it.
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very true. we have been deemed to be living the so-called fast-paced life. everyone is always rushing from one thing to the next and i can only imagine it getting worse in the future.
wanting to slow down everything suddenly might be difficult. so i guess for starters, we could all just slow down our footsteps when we are walking home and take this time to enjoy the colours in the sky, the little cracks in the sidewalk, and smell the air (or the pollution by exhaust =p).
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