A couple, vacationing in Maine, visited the harbour to watch the boats return from fishing and trapping lobsters. One lobster boat docked near where they sat and unloaded buckets of freshly trapped lobsters. The wife became intrigued as she watched the lobsters scurry about in the bucket. She noticed that as soon as one lobster began to climb its way out of the pail, the other lobsters would pull it back down. It seemed to her that it would have been fairly easy for each lobster to crawl out of the bucket, except that they were always being pulled down by the others.

Lobsters, certainly can teach us about the powerful effects on envy in human nature as well. Doesn’t it seem that as soon as one person decides to stretch and climb out of the “bucket”, there are so many others clutching to pull him or her back down? Rather, we should try to support and push the other person farther along?

Brain Cavanaugh

Brain Cavanaugh, Sowers’ Seeds 6th Planting. P.89-90