LIFE LESSONS
Salmon Swimming Upstream
The human condition explained by a day on the river
The walk along the well-worn path was damp and muddy. Half frozen spiderwebs guided the early morning journey. Alone, I stood at the riverbank, tracing the worn edges of my grandfather’s field journal. He sent me on this mission because he knew words would never be enough. Sometimes, you cannot put the experience to paper without seeing the majesty with the naked eye, nor understand the far deeper parallels.
I looked up just in time to see silver bodies cut through the current, each powerful tail stroke a testament to determination. Each fish fought against the rushing water, leaping over rocks and navigating treacherous rapids. They weren’t just swimming but returning home, driven by an ancient instinct older than memory.
The salmon’s determination was not just brutal, but also undeniably beautiful. Some wouldn’t make it. Their bodies would become food for bears, eagles, red fox, the ecosystem itself. Yet they continued, driven by something beyond individual survival — a collective purpose that transcended their own lives.
I understood that impulse. I left my small hometown years ago, swimming in college and pursuing dreams in the city. Only I found myself drawn back by an inexplicable…
