I decided to share a little bit of my life with you and tell you a short story of a lesson that I learned when I was a kid and still practice it to this day!

I am a born and bred “clam digger”, a “shore boy”, a plain and simple man that grew up and lived at the beach. There was nothing better than going fishing with my brother and dad on the rock jetties by the local inlet trying to catch Fluke, Flounder or some other tasty fish or sitting along the docks of the local boatyards attempting to haul in baby Bluefish.

Fishing wasn't the only thing that we loved to do. If we weren't fishing, we were crabbing. There are a few ways that a person can catch crabs: a wire metal crab trap (with some kind of bait in it), a fishing net, or by simply tying a string around some big chunk of meat, sinking it for a while, then, very slowly, pulling up the string and finding a big ole crab munching on the meat. Finally, the captured crab would be put into a container, await its fate, and get ready to “walk the plank” into a big, boiling pot of water.

Believe it or not, there is actually a correct way to keep caught crabs in a container…especially something like a 5 gallon bucket. Once the first crab is caught and put into the bucket, the fisherman has to put something on top of the opening of the bucket otherwise, the crab will jump up, grab the rim of the bucket with its claw, pull itself up and escape. The funny thing is, that once the second crab is caught, the fisherman no longer needs to cover the top of the bucket. Why? BECAUSE EACH CRAB WILL PULL THE OTHER CRAB DOWN…so escape becomes impossible.

My experience crabbing taught me a lesson that I still apply to other people today: DON’T BE A CRAB! Many times in our lives, some people experience hardships, difficulties, and sorrow. Sometimes these people become very depressed, irritable, and surly. They have a tendency to affect the people around them: they can weaken a person’s will, diminish their spirit, and “pull down” their positive outlook of life. Like the first crab that is caught and is holding back other crabs from escaping, sometimes our attitudes can hold back others from becoming the kind of individuals that they want to be.

If you think about it, if the crabs were smart, they would simply allow each other to escape until finally, the last crab could flee. They would encourage each other, work together for the goodness of the whole group.

So…DON’T BE A CRAB! Don’t be the kind of person to hold other people back from becoming the kind of person that they want to be. If you are going through difficult times and experiencing hardships, look to others, your family and friends, for encouragement and support. There is power in numbers…if everyone works together, focuses on the positive and encourages each other, then a person will be able to enjoy their life and live it to the fullest.