The Kaplan's work and that of others also echoes research into the benefits of Shinrin-yoku or forest bathing in Japan. People in Japan go to dedicated Shinrin-yoku trails to walk in the pine forests to enjoy the beautiful scenery while breathing in the heady pine scented air. It has received increasing attention by researchers into its therapeutic benefit to reduce stress and promote a feeling of well-being.
I can well remember my walks to certain favourite spots to sit in secluded parts of the Yorkshire Dales to escape the rigours of my work with traumatised children. Time out in those beautiful surroundings enabled me to return to work with a clear head and calmed heart. With this intent in mind I set my heart to return to the watery world of the rivers I loved so much before my accident.
Initiatives such as Project Healing Waters, Casting For Recovery, and Fishing for Heroes among others, allow people to experience the restorative benefits of the outdoors via fly fishing. When I made my first tentative return to the river, to immerse myself in its life flow, I began with tenkara. Why? Because tenkara has a relaxed sense of purpose.
Freed from the complexity to coordinate a fly reel and metres of fly line, I could let go. Let go and enjoy the beauty of the river. Let go and experience the exhilaration of a singing tight line with a fish on the fly. Tenkara's simplicity also enabled me to keep a firm hand on a wading staff too, an important consideration given my difficulties.
One important concept remains when we go fishing. Connections. At first we tend to concentrate on the physical connections of rod to line, of line to fly and the hoped for fly to fish. If you spend enough time in or beside a river you can't help to notice the other connections that fishing requires us to acknowledge.
Connections like the river's flow from riffle, run, pool and glide. The connection of the land to the river via the its tributaries. The connection of water quality to sustain underwater invertebrates. Which in turn supports the diversity of life both in and around the river. The connection of the weather to the river's flow. The connection of rivers to the history of people and civilisation.
I think the recognition of these external connections can help us to connect with our inner environment. Time spent in the soft fascination of the river environment can, I would suggest, help us reconnect with an essential part of ourselves. A river represents a vast network of connections greater than the sum of its parts. Like a river, we can begin, little by little, to remember ourselves whole again. In doing so we begin to rebuild and strengthen those connections we may have lost, broken or forgotten.
Tenkara comes from a centuries old tradition embedded within the mountains of its birth in Japan. Industrious fishermen plied their trade with a deep knowledge and respect for the environment in which they lived. An environment of complex connections that a simple fixed line fly fishing approach could unlock and provide a sustainable livelihood. A tradition that has travelled into the modern world of the 21st century to connect east with west.
Each time I immerse myself in the river nowadays I renew my appreciation for and affirm my place in the world. As a fly fishing guide I have found an alternative way to earn a living. One where I have the pleasure to connect others with the soft fascinating ways of the river.