Sink or Swim

The sun was shining brightly in the sky and the breeze was just right.

As Heryshaf knelt to drink, a little fish popped out of the water and blinked at him.

'Hello,' said Heryshaf to the fish.

'Hi,' said the fish. 'How you doing?'

'Not very well,' answered Heryshaf.

'Why, pray tell, is that?'

'Well, you see, I have been despised by all Sheepdom and banished from my flock because I sought to find my own truth. I want to find the great secret to life.'

'As do we all,' retorted the fish. 'And they banished you for your curiosity?'

'Yes. All the sheep have this point of view they follow blindly without question, and I cannot accept it anymore. I need to find the truth for myself.'

'So you went against what the sheep told you?'

'Yes,' replied Heryshaf. 'Can you help me?'

'I'm not sure if I can help you.'

Heryshaf's head dropped.

'However, what I can do is offer you the benefit of what I have learnt in my own quest for knowledge. For I, Jonk the fish, have been searching for the great secret of life also.'

'Really? Really?' said Heryshaf excitedly. 'Have you found it yet?'

'No. I have not.'

'Oh.'

'But I can offer you this. The great secret of which you speak cannot be in the lakes of the highest mountains, nor at the bottom of the deepest sea. For I have braved fierce rapids and waves, and in all my years have not found that which you seek.'

'I've heard something rather similar,' said Heryshaf.

'From whom?'

'An eagle and a mountain.'

Jonk blinked.

'And what was it you gathered from them?'

'Well,' began Heryshaf, 'Aldwin the eagle is sixty-eight years old and has travelled far and wide and seen all that is in the air and all that walks on land. He told me that the great secret of life couldn't be found in any of the places he had seen. And that the greatest thing he learned was...'

Heryshaf breathed.

'Know yourself.'

'And?' prompted Jonk.

'And the great mountain said of its height that it was only when he stopped looking outside himself for answers that he began to rise above the valleys.'

'What is your name?' asked Jonk.

'My name is Heryshaf, son of Storig.'

'That's an unusual name.'

'Yes, it is. It means \u2018The Greatest\u2019,' said Heryshaf. 'And yours is Jonk. That's quite unusual too. Where did you get that name?'

'I was born Jonathan Kaddish, but my friends got rid of the \u2018athan\u2019 and \u2018addish\u2019. They renamed me Jonk.'

Heryshaf considered this.

'So, Jonk, it seems that the great secret cannot be found in the mountains, in the valleys, in the rivers, in the skies or in the seas. And it would seem we have to look inside ourselves.'

Jonk stared at him.

'It's amazing,' he said. 'I have spent my whole life searching for the meaning of life and have never found it. Now I meet a crazy sheep with a crazy name. He doesn't know the answer himself, yet tells me that I've been looking in the wrong places all my life.'

Heryshaf wasn't entirely sure whether this was a compliment.

'I've got to look inside,' Jonk continued. 'Of course, you are right. It couldn't be any simpler. I can't believe it!'

'Calm down, calm down,' said Heryshaf, worrying about the fish's sanity.

'But how do we do that?' he continued. 'Where do we begin? Is there anything else you've learnt in your life that could help me?'

The fish regained his stability.

'Yes, perhaps there is. The greatest truth that I have perceived in life is that there is a flow.'

'A flow?'

'The flow surrounds us in all directions. It is everywhere. And life becomes a lot harder when you try to swim against the river. The river is too big. Too powerful. You can't escape its current.'

Jonk disappeared beneath the surface.

A moment later he appeared several feet downstream.

'You see?'

'Yes.'

'The river goes where the river will, and you must try and find your truth as you pass through it.'

Jonk turned and began swimming furiously upstream.

For several seconds he went nowhere.

Then the current carried him backwards.

He surfaced beside Heryshaf again, breathing heavily.

'The more you hold, the more you resist, the harder life becomes.'

'I see.'

'At times, of course, you can, and should, resist the flow \u2014 pushing against it to swim in a different direction \u2014 but you should only do so rarely. The effort required to fight against the flow is exhausting and doesn't always end well.'

Jonk flicked his tail and fought his way towards a small rock.

'Sometimes there is danger. Sometimes you must change direction.'

He released the rock and immediately drifted downstream again.

'But you cannot fight the river for long before it reminds you who is boss.'

'This is very interesting,' said Heryshaf. 'It seems that I was fighting against the flow when I chose to walk in a different direction from the rest of the flock?'

'Yes,' said Jonk. 'That is true.'

'Then perhaps I shouldn't have?'

'I didn't say that.'

'But you just said\u2014'

'I said swimming against the river is difficult. I didn't say never to do it.'

Jonk swam in a little circle.

'It takes a lot of energy and courage to change course, and you can never know where your new course will end, or if it will offer any brighter path.'

Heryshaf thought about this.

'So remember this on your quest \u2014 just because you can change direction, it doesn't mean you should.'

'When should I?'

'When you must.'

'How do I know when I must?'

Jonk thought for rather longer than Heryshaf found reassuring.

'When the core of your inner being tells you to.'

Heryshaf waited.

'That's it?'

'That's it.'

'What if the core of my inner being is wrong?'

Jonk thought again.

'Then you'll know something else.'

Heryshaf considered this.

'When it comes to the flow,' Jonk continued, 'sometimes you can simply be still and you'll end up in exactly the same place that you would have, had you struggled.'

'Doing nothing?'

'Sometimes you don't need to do anything at all. Sometimes doing nothing at all is the right decision and leads you in the right direction \u2014 with the flow.'

Heryshaf looked at the river.

It seemed to be doing an enormous amount without appearing to make any effort at all.

'Doing what you did with your flock was a massive leap from one stream into another,' Jonk continued. 'I commend you for it. But it is important to only jump stream when you absolutely must. For all other reasons, and at all other times, it is useless to argue with the river, for it is bigger than you and will push you wherever it chooses.'

'I think I understand.'

'Good. Because I have a rule I apply in every situation.'

'Of course you do.'

'I call it Jonk's Rule of Information Extraction.'

'Please continue.'

'Always Nod, Smile and Agree.'

Heryshaf frowned.

'Whether you agree or not. Always Nod, Smile and Agree. You will find that everyone opens up to you when you don't confront them. Tell everyone what they want to hear and do what you want anyway! Always agree and do your thinking later.'

'That sounds dishonest.'

Jonk nodded, smiled and agreed.

'You're absolutely right.'

Heryshaf stared at him.

Jonk stared back.

Then Heryshaf laughed.

'Let the flow lead you,' said Jonk. 'Let the flow guide you \u2014 sense it \u2014 trust it, and go with it if it is possible to do so.'

'And if it isn't?'

Jonk smiled.

'Swim.'

With those words he ducked under the water in a flourish of ripples and a flap of his tail.