Message-ID: <6047932.1075842022754.JavaMail.evans@thyme> Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 06:40:57 -0800 (PST) From: cramer@cadvision.com To: john.zufferli@enron.com Subject: Patagonia Field Reports - Beginner's Mind Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ANSI_X3.4-1968 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-From: "Erik Cramer" @ENRON X-To: Zufferli, John X-cc: X-bcc: X-Folder: \ExMerge - Zufferli, John\Deleted Items X-Origin: ZUFFERLI-J X-FileName: john zufferli 6-26-02.PST =20 Patagonia Committed to the Core Call Patagonia anytime... Free Patago= nia Clothing Catalog Shop Patagonia About Patagonia Customer Service = Search =09 [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] Sports We Do Alpine Climbing = Skiing/Boarding Rock Climbing Surfing Fishing = Paddling Mountain Biking Trail Running Enviro Action = Our Culture Design Philosophy [IMAGE] Product Search [IM= AGE] =09[IMAGE]=09 see caption belowField Reports - Fishing Beginner's Min= d I started fly fishing two years ago out of what some would call the bat= tle of the sexes. I had taken an "old" boyfriend backpacking; he brought a= long a fly rod. I think he had just started fly fishing. I tried it out af= ter watching him for a while and I liked it. It reminded me of Tai Chi and= meditation - flowing water, fresh air - it felt so natural. So when we= returned from our trip I told my boyfriend that I wanted to fly fish. He = replied, "You don't know how." Instantly the tomboy in me rose to the cha= llenge. Growing up with three brothers, it was a conditioned response. I h= ad to prove to this boy that I could indeed fly fish if I wanted to. So I= said, "I'll learn." And a few weeks later an old timer in Arizona gave me= an old rod, a Reel O'Matic and my first casting lesson. I was hooked and= ready to prove myself to the guys. With a good year of fishing under my = belt, I found myself at the Santa Ynez River early one morning; no one aro= und yet, big pools, bubbling water, a golden eagle cruising up the river, = silence. I was fishing a hole with trout and smallmouth bass in it. All a= lone, my mind wandered, and I was soon asking myself whether or not I trul= y enjoyed fishing, or whether I was just trying to be better than the boys= . I contemplated this thought while casting, the line unrolling rhythmical= ly on each forward and back cast. And I felt so very present, in the now,= in peaceful solitude with my world, breathing deep and then? Fish on! An= d the answer was yes. I love this. I love the way I feel after a day of fi= shing, as though I had spent the whole day meditating. I feel fresh and li= ke a kid again, all sun-baked and dirty after a day rock hopping up a cre= ek. I enjoy most the solitude. Even if I fish with a buddy, I am still jus= t with myself, my rod and the cast, trying to come up with a recipe for ca= tching that fish. I become so peaceful fishing. And when I spot that big t= rout rising across the stream, the adrenaline rush is crazy. It's amazing = to me that I can get so excited about a fish. I realized that what had s= tarted out as me trying to be as good as the guys had become a practice in= stead. It is not a battle after all, but simply fishing: sharing tips, swa= pping stories, being part of a community. I love being a beginner. It mea= ns I have years to practice and learn about this thing called fly fishing= . And I hope I never lose that beginners mind, because it is the fuel that= pushes me further along and there is always something new to learn. BIO = Kourtney Morgan works as a sample maker for Patagonia where she began fly= fishing. Reflecting on the sport, she says, "I do so many things I can't = say which is my favorite. I will say this, they all have one thing in comm= on, I do them with joy and reckless abandon." [IMAGE] Photo: Yvon Chouina= rd [IMAGE] Free Catalog | Shopping Cart | Privacy/Security | Email = Sign Up Contact Us | Jobs | Affiliate Info | Your Account | Customer = Service Site Map | Home Call us anytime 1.800.638.6464 ? 2002 Patag= onia, Inc. [IMAGE] Half-Mass Bag [IMAGE] Organic Cotton [IMAGE] Emai= l Sign Up =09[IMAGE]=09 - patagonia.jpg=20 - call800.jpg=20 - catalog_store.jpg=20 - shop.jpg=20 - about.jpg=20 - customer.jpg=20 - search.jpg=20 - clear.gif=20 - navgreyline.gif=20 - product_search.jpg=20 - top_fish_field.jpg=20 - head_field_fish.gif=20 - 48270.jpg=20 - pborgcotton1.jpg=20 - pbemail.jpg