I Must have Fallen Asleep

Now I confess to being rubbish at recounting stories because I often forget all of the important details. I ruin jokes in the same way. I remembered a story before I fell to sleep last night, which I think I might have first heard on one of my Kabbalah Centre course CDs. It involved a man sitting by the side of the river, fishing. I searched about this morning and found a variation of this tale, which is as follows -

An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, "only a little while."

The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish?

The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs.

The American then asked, "but what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life."

The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?"

To which the American replied, "15 - 20 years."

"But what then?" Asked the Mexican.

The American laughed and said, "That’s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions!"

"Millions - then what?"

The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

I was thinking about this story in bed last night. I pretty much lost the scent of my career-hunt some time ago and as today's card suggests, I metaphorically fell asleep. Yes, I want to work. But I don't want to be out there rushing from country to country, pulling myself up the career-ladder by my razor-sharp teeth, or talking so loud into my mobile phone on the train to my work colleagues that everyone else can hear me (don't you just hate that?). Like the man in this story, I want to do just enough to be able to play with my cards, live somewhere nice but modest, and enjoy the simple pleasures of life with my boyfriend. I've kind of experienced that in the last half of the year by doing work I enjoy, that pays well enough and extends us a few luxuries. You're not likely to see me on either The Apprentice or Dragon's Den anytime soon. This is not to say that I don't have a few ideas up my sleeve, because I do.

Today's card chimed in nicely with all of these thoughts because I do feel as though I've been asleep when I open my eyes and see what is going on in the world around me. Sometimes, being amongst this slumber is the better place to be and the story of the fisherman reminds me of how appreciative I should be of the small things I have. I just prepared a pasta salad for my parents and we sat and talked at the table. For a second, I stopped and witnessed how well we were getting on together; that we were laughing and saying nice things to one another.

My father worried us again last night. After resting out his prostate operation this week, he felt as though something was wrong with his mouth. While my friend was here, he came in to my room and showed us how a swelling had begun on his cheek and wondered if it was an abscess. By the time she had left, it had got that bit bigger, so he made an appointment to go to the dentists. The dentist had a look and prescribed him some Amoxicillin, so he came back and rested after dinner in front of the television.

Because I had been up here in my room for an hour, I was quite shocked to go downstairs and then see that the entire side of my father's face had blown up. It was no longer just a small swelling. It had moved to both his lips and above; the whole bottom of his face was dramatically protruding. It was hard to even recognise him properly. He looked like someone who had had a dose of really bad plastic surgery. I told them I thought he should get to the hospital, so Mum drove him up there. Apparently, when they got there, it was still continuing to swell and his top lip was touching his nose. He said that the inside of his bottom one had come out so far that he could hardly speak. They were there for about four hours. I think that the doctor wanted to keep him in for the night but due to him having enough of hospitals for the last week, they kept him there for just an hour longer to make sure the swelling went down. It turns out that it was a reaction to the drugs given by the dentist.

Dad is looking better today. His mouth is still a little on the strange side, but he has different medication. What with this, the medication he takes for his diabetes and that from after the operation, he is like a walking pill box. I am just relieved he is ok as it is pretty scary to see someones appearance alter so much in such a short amount of time.

I like today's card, Stolen in Her Sleep. I think it has the edge of tarot's Death card, since it suggests that the girl is being pulled into the earth and will be transformed. It mimics my years of shut-eye, but it might also speak of a new beginning. There are things which are beginning to wake and stir me into consciousness, so it could be describing my decent into darkness, only to be born again sometime soon.

Images from The Wild Wisdom of the Faery Oracle by Selina Fenech