I’d like to invite you to join us on a singularly unique fly fishing journey in Montana this summer/fall and I’d like to tell you why.

Ten years ago my life – and my brother Kevin’s life – changed in a big way for the better because of a fly fishing trip.

You see Kevin had experienced a series of traumatic events, one after the other, which slowly but inexorably led to a significant personal crisis. He lost himself. Completely disconnected from the world. He didn’t do anything life-threatening (thank God!), but he retreated so far into himself that nobody could get through. He lost his job. Wouldn’t talk. Couldn’t relate to his wife and kids, he could barely function.

So I reached out to my Uncle Gary, my best friend Dirk, and two exceptionally gifted fly fishing guides – Brian and Mike – and booked a fly fishing trip on the Sacramento River. We fished for three full days, floating with vistas of the snowcapped peaks of Mt. Shasta to the north and Mt. Lassen to the south, and caught trout and steelhead.

On the first day Kevin barely said a word. He took the suggestions of Brian and Mike, rediscovered his casting stroke, and began to catch fish. That night we ate a delicious family style dinner and recounted tales of the day. Kevin sat quietly while we laughed and recounted the absurdities of fish netted, fish lost, and tangled lines.

And as the night wore on and we tried to engage Kevin, a remarkable thing happened: the stories began to transform. Maybe it was because of the beauty that we’d been surrounded by all day. Or maybe it was the simplicity and peace that we felt that resulted from the day-long experience of casting repeatedly into the river’s currents. Or maybe it was just the honesty of being in and a part of nature. Or perhaps it was the opportunity to be with people we have a heartfelt connection to where we felt comfortable enough to be vulnerable with one and other. In any case, one by one we all began to share stories of our lives. Difficulties and joys that we all had experienced. Hardships and heartaches that we had all been through. Times where we had to put one foot in front of the other and remarkably where we’d been able to come out the other side.

Inevitably these stories marked how we had grown, matured. How the circumstances had compelled us to change. How we’d learned, sometimes had moved on, or at other times where we just had to make peace with the past. But we realized all those experiences had made us who we are today and that we were better off for having experienced them. The sharing was intimate, reassuring, and humbling, all at the same time.

What was equally remarkable was that the next day the honesty turned to playful and humorous banter which lasted on into the next night, and the next day too. We didn’t just relate personal stories. We helped each other understand them and make meaning and glean insight from the experiences. Ultimately, we were reconnected in ways as if time hadn’t passed at all.

Little by little Kevin began to engage. He slowly emerged from his shell. He began to talk and tell his own story. By the end of the third day he was able to open up and share. And because he’d shared so much with each of us we were there to support him.
It was a life-changing experience. One we have returned to now for 10 years!

But in the process it wasn’t just Kevin that changed, each of us was transformed. The whole experience rekindled those special bonds that revitalized the spirit of friendship/family and inspired new possibilities for belonging, laughter, and healing. Fly fishing, nature, and the mere structure of the experience just supplied the opportunity for us to be in relationship with each other again.