Living Simply

The story is told of a wealthy man who was walking along a beach and happened to notice a fisherman sitting lazily beside his docked boat. “Why aren’t you out there fishing?” he asked him.

“Because I’ve caught enough fish for today,” said the fisherman.

“Why don’t you go catch more fish?” the rich man asked.

“‘What would I do with them?” the fisherman asked.

“You could sell them and earn even more money,” came the impatient reply, “and buy a better boat so you could go deeper and catch more fish. You could purchase nylon nets, catch even more fish, and make more money. Soon you’d have a fleet of boats and be rich like me.”

The fisherman asked, “Then what would I do?”

“You could sit down and enjoy life,” said the rich man.

“What do you think I’m doing right now?” the fisherman replied as he looked placidly out to sea.