Something Fishy - Ice Cream for the Soul by Joy Koenig, MD - Personal Growth, Wellness, Healthy Lifestyle, Meditation, Inspiration

SOMETHING'S FISHY
CATEGORY

        Mindful Meditation

DESCRIPTION

        Keep a fish tank or even a single goldfish.

INSTRUCTIONS

        Build an aquarium or buy a small glass bowl and a single fish. Find some time every day to watch the fish swim around the bowl or tank, and tune out anything else that comes into your mind. If you remember to stop and appreciate the fish every day, taking care of them will reward you instead of drain you. If you see the fish as a gift in your life, feeding time will become the opportunity to receive a peaceful gift instead of just another item to check off on your "to do" list.

RELATED IDEA

        Build a terrarium complete with spiders or amphibians, and use them as the mental focus point for your daily meditation.

JOY'S JOURNEY

        Whenever I think of fish or fishing, I think of the month I spent on the alcohol rehabilitation floor during my third year of medical school. No, I wasn't a patient. I was a medical student. I had taken the rotation as a way to gain a greater understanding of why my mother didn't seem to be able to accept help and refrain from drinking alcohol.

        Learning about the medical aspects of alcoholism and drug addiction was interesting. However, the most meaningful part of the rotation came through my own design. I used to change into my jeans and come onto the wards after dinner to play Euchre with the inmates -- um, I mean with the patients. My genuine interest and concern quickly gained me acceptance into the ‘gang', and they would talk freely with me, as a fellow human being instead of as a future doctor. I learned more about alcoholism during those evening Euchre games than I did during my eight hours of white-coating. I had tons of questions about who they were, underneath the craving for alcohol. Even then, I relentlessly asked what brought them joy. Many of them said "Fishing!", and in my desire to identify and fit in with them, I told them stories of how my older brother would drag me out in the pouring rain to collect night crawlers for bait, and would wake me up at four in the morning to go bass fishing with him. They tried to look sincere, but eventually their shared looks caused them to burst into laughter. They patiently explained to me, as if to a young and clueless child, that they loved fishing because it gave them an excuse to drink to their hearts content away from the prying eyes of spouses -- they always had a twelve pack or a flask tucked in along side the bait in the cooler.

QUOTES

Fish, to taste right, must swim 3 times --
in water, in butter and in wine.
Polish Proverb

Remember, a dead fish can float down stream,
but it takes a live one to swim upstream.
W. C. Fields

Dr. Joy is available to present playful workshops (playshops) at your corporate training retreat, non profit organization gathering, or club membership meetings. She is located in Denver, Colorado, and travels throughout the US to deliver Serious Fun ™ Programs for personal growth, wellness, and inspiration. Please see the program pages for details and contact information.

This playful meditation activity is COPYRIGHTED. If you are a professional trainer, coach, human resources person, counselor, or therapist it is not ethical nor legal for you to use it or share it with your clients or those you supervise/train as part of your job. See the copyright notice on the front page of this e-book. Remember, character is what you do when no one is looking. Please take the high road, and pay me appropriately to use these materials professionally, even if you work for a church, school, non-profit or the government.