A Story:
A crab fisherman once noticed something intriguing after a successful catch one day at sea.
As he hauled in the crabs, he divided them up in buckets almost filled to the brim. On his way back to shore, the fisherman glanced down and focused his attention on one of the buckets.
Here is what he noticed:
He watched as the crabs all tried to escape but to no avail.
What was so intriguing to the fisherman was the fact that when one crab would reach the top of the bucket, just as it was about to get over the tipping point ... another crab would grab it and pull it back in.
This was striking to the fisherman, so he decided to watch for a bit longer and he discovered that this was a pattern for the crabs.
His discovery was that when one crab was about to hit freedom, it was immediately pulled back in the bucket by the other crabs.
Then, the fisherman tried something different.
He put a single crab in a bucket and watched to see how it would react.
In a few minutes, the crab hooked its way to the top and found its way home back to the sea.
There are several powerful lessons that the crabs can teach you and I. One is that life is filled with people that resist creative ideas.
When you distinguish yourself from the crowd, it will ruffle the feathers of those around you. Envy is an ugly thing, so when you set out to accomplish something new, be prepared for the people around you to start grabbing at you with their claws, trying their best to keep you down with the rest of the body snatchers. When you come in contact with other crabs, be ready for their claws that come in the form of negativity, downgrading comments, & the desire for you to stay in the "bucket" with the others. There is a price to pay for staying in the bucket by the way: Death.
I love the fact that the Bible tells us that we are created in God's image.
Did you know that God is far more creative or imaginative than any of us could ever be? This means that by being an image bearer, you were created to be creative!
This is why when you and I were little, all we did was imagine! That is, until we grew up and people started pulling us back down into the bucket.
Advice: Don't let the other crabs pull you down.
It is time you crawled out of the bucket and into a sea.
5 comments:
That's the difference between crabs and ants. Crabs are just that...Ants work for the betterment of the whole.
Hmm. I didn't realize that crabs were allowed to be Senators and Congresspersons...
Holy Smokes, I never tire of this analogy. And rarely has it been more true with me than the past week. I think if crabs were walking down the street together, one would try and throw the other one under a bus.
Haters! Can't live with them...Can't live without them...
I like this whole crab analogy too. I'm thinking of a friend who was the subject of some naysayers. Unchecked, there was no getting away from the continuous downward drag. But when confronted, the naysayers all found it impossible to explain themselves or to carry forward a united front. Lesson? Be the crab that confronts his detractors!
... and we do need to look at ourselves too and do some soul searching, are we being crabs or ants? because, maybe, just maybe, we too, are becoming crabs unconsciously?
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