Spot Fishing: Divinely Shaped Spots of Time

Norman Maclean, in “A River Runs Through It,” spoke of spots of time.  “Spots of time” is a phrase used by Wordsworth to describe those moments in life that seem to be divinely shaped and designed. Together, Norman and his father often spoke of poetry, the Bible and perhaps about these divine moments.  

Maclean would spend much of his life trying to write about such moments. For better and certainly some times worse, I have spent much of my own life looking for divinely shaped spots. Sometimes I could see them, other times not, and at other times, I simply refused to "see". Regardless, this kind of “spot fishing” can be quite profound. What could be more profound?

As we approach and transition to winter with the shorter and darker days, I was first inclined to say that it seems more difficult to find these spots of time. But, I am not certain. Maybe this is the “season”, or the in between time in which to more carefully look. Perhaps these divinely shaped spots of time are all around us.  Perhaps the darkness, the shorter days and cold can help us focus our attention more intensely on what might be divinely shaped. It could be that in the summer, our vision is too “spread out,” and we miss the best “spot fishing”.

Fishing in the winter often is about waiting for those narrow openings to appear on the river. These moments could be a narrow time slot when the water temperature raises just enough to trigger a hatch of midges or BWO’s.  In that spot of time the fish feed. I guess in a way, we could think of these hatches as divinely shaped spots of time often surrounded by wind, snow and cold.

I am also aware that the month of December is one of the most difficult times of the year for many people. The culture of course will keep telling us we should just be happy and buy as much stuff as we can.  Our culture does not feel divinely shaped to me.

I think I would rather be on a river, or skiing a mountain looking for divinely shaped spots of time. I don't think they are to be found in the malls or on the tube.