The Gem Fish

Image credit: Shutterstock 2137720881

Myth- Something that never happened, but is always true.

-Joseph Campbell

Each summer our granddaughters (currently ages 5 1/2 and 2 1/2) spend 6 weeks with us at the cabin.

Every morning a Gem Fish deposits small pieces of brightly colored jewels on our shoreline. The girls, upon waking, immediately run down to the lake to see if the Gem Fish has come.

Adalyn, the oldest, is precocious. She told her mother she didn’t think the Gem Fish was real and that Papa (me) was the Gem Fish. Our daughter clued me in, so for a couple of mornings the Gem Fish didn’t come. Adalyn’s mother explained that without belief, the Gem Fish probably wouldn’t return.

Adalyn quickly reversed her assessment of the situation, and miraculously, the Gem Fish came the very next morning. She no longer outwardly questions its existence.

Let’s crank that up a notch—

Years ago, our disabled son endured three risky brain surgeries in as many days to relieve a dangerous accumulation of spinal fluid pressing against his brain.

I worked in downtown Minneapolis, close to the hospital, and during my lunch hour met with his neurosurgeon. The surgeries didn’t go well; the third attempt to resolve the situation triggered a stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed on his left side. We were crushed!

Returning to work in a daze, a colleague, who knew nothing of this situation, greeted me with: “Hi Tim! How’s it going?”

I don’t know why, but I responded with a cheerful, “Never better!” Then, on the way back to my office, resolved to live up to my response. Never better became my habitual reply to all “How’s it going?” questions for the next twenty years. Surprisingly, it brightened people’s days in addition to my own.

Our granddaughter’s belief in the Gem Fish was rewarded. I believed Never Better into reality despite circumstances that were clearly otherwise.

Whether acknowledged or not, what we believe creates our reality.

But what if those beliefs are myths?

Surprisingly, it doesn’t matter. Many things are brought into existence through belief. God is Exhibit A! Ask yourself this question: What matters more, independent, verifiable truth, or lived belief?

Take your time answering!

Quantum physicists can’t sensibly describe the strange world illuminated by the equations of their discipline. But the math works.

Sound familiar?

I resonate with the strange findings of quantum physics, such as rather than discretely given, the sub-atomic world is relational and impacted by an observer. Life feels that way.

The Gem Fish visited our granddaughter for the duration of her summer visit!

What beliefs do you hold to in your life?

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If you are new to this blog, each Sunday, I post a topic relevant to the pursuit of a life well-lived, defined as experiencing happiness that is resilient to difficult circumstances, seeing where we “fit in,” and feeling accepted just as we are.

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