If you were to create a retreat center, what would it be like?

Hi Laurie
I acknowledge what you say.

My problem is not retreating - I have  lifetime's experience in running away from the difficult problems, and pretending that I am facing them.
I live in a small town - apart from time at university, and 6 months at one job, I always have.

I get out onto a golf course most weeks.
I get out onto the ocean less frequently these days, and I still have the means.
I go for a serious walk (6 hours or more) every month or two.
I have websites such as this.
So yes - I am looking after that aspect of “retreat”.

Where I have been lacking discipline and forward energy is in doing the things that look difficult to me - like getting an hour or more of aerobic exercise - not happenning since my cycling buddy moved 400miles north; or getting an effective team organised around www.solnx.org .
I had the realisation last night that what I had been doing was trying to commuicate my vision about the means of doing it; and that is an almost impossible task for the vast majority of people.   What I can perhaps do more effectively is communicate about the vision of the destination, and leave the means for the very small group ( and a few tens of thousands from all of humanity) who are atcually interested in that.
So I will do some work on that as the spaces allow over the next few weeks.

I have done a lot, stood for parliament several times, and failed, and actually got elected to the district council for a term, active on many committees - and I have made contributions, learned a bit about myself and others, and  a little about communication.

It has come home to me recently how much I really do not like it when other people attack me - as in publicly try to destroy my credibility.  My child gets very angry and distressed at such things - and I have had some recent experience at dealing with that.

The problem I see with so many of the  facalties of being human is that they are “use it or loose it” type.   I acknowledge the need for rest, and recouperation; and I see the need for the type of rest that the heart gets - which is about 60%, between beats.  I am practicing at taking that sort of rest - in the spaces that occur, every second, every hour, every day.   That way it can seem to me that I have been resting most of the day, yet to others it may seem that I have been very busy.  Everything needs to be exercised, and rested, in its turn.

I am starting to get to know this machine that is Thomas Edward Howard - starting to make friends with him - it's only taken half a century ;)

Hi Laurie
On the attack front, as president of our local boating club I was invited to become a member of a new group (Kaikoura Coastal Guardians - Te Korowai o te Tai o Marokura - www.teamkorowai.org.nz ), and in that role I have been trying to get people to look at the impacts of their actions.  Some within the committee felt threatened by this - I think it has settled somewhat, and I'll find out at the next meeting, which is tomorrow night.

The child I was referring to was my inner child - one of the many parts that are within me, that have their say from time to time.

I am doing my best to acknowledge all my parts, to appreciate their strengths and be aware of their weaknesses.

Hi Laurie

A lot of wisdom in what you say - I just don't see a way of applying it to this particular circumstance.

What I have is a lot of recreational fishermen who see it as their right to go out and catch fish.  There is one particular fish that is the major issue - one called blue cod (not a true cod at all, but that is irrelevant).

Blue cod is the “fish of choice” for recreational fishers in these parts.  It supports both recreational and commercial fisheries.   It is a moderately long lived fish, living up to 30 years, and becoming sexually mature at around 6 years of age.   It is found in depths from 20ft out to about 700ft.
We are a relatively small village, with only about 4,000 local, but this is the fishing place of choice for most recreational fishers from the nearest city (Christchurch, 2 hours drive away), and attracts up to 10,000 anglers from the population of the greater christchurch region of about 400,000.
When I started talking about the real numbers involved, and how 10,000 anglers taking only 10 fish each still adds up to 100 ton of fish; some of the guys thought I was getting anti recreational fishing, and several undercurrents started in the club - and the guy who challenged me for president and lost at the last AGM turned up as the front man for the opposition.
Possibly due to stresses and strains on the home front - I took the approaches personally, and started losing sleep over it.   I am back to sleeping well again, and it was an unpleasant time.

Added into the mix, is that recreational fishers voluntarily cut their daily bag limit from 30 fish to 10 fish about 8 years ago.   Since then there has been an increase in commercial effort in the area (quota applies to the entire east coast, not bay by bay), but the fish are very localised, and each population in each small area is distinct, few adults move more than 1km from their home base over their lifetime.

Most of the increase commercial effort is targetted at the deeper populations, which are in good health, high numbers.   It is the inshore stocks that are under extreme pressure and need a reduction in pressure.

Another factor is that it seems to me that having minimum size limits while allowing fish a chance to breed before being caught, actually selects very strongly for slow growing and small fish, so we appear to be breading ourselves out of a fishery.   We need to introduce both minimum and maximum size limits, to balance the genetic selection effects.

Another complicating factor is that this is a very exposed coastline, with few landing points, and subject to extremes of weather.  It can go from flat calm to 70kts of wind in 10 minutes, and sometimes with little or no warning.   Only very experienced mariners go very far from shore.  And it can get quite crowded at the ramps when a Southerly does come through.

How do you tell people that what was possible when there were only 500 people doing it, is no longer possible when 10,000 people want to do it - and coat it is sugar?

I've been scratching my head over that one for some months.

It appears there are quite a few things that most people simply do not want to think about; but which actually need to be considered to have actions work in reality over the long term.  (Applies in all domains, not just fisheries.)

Just got home from the Boat Club meeting, and things seem to be back on track - still not sure exactly what went off - and happy that it seems calmer now.