The Story of the Crabs In the Bucket



THE STORY OF THE CRABS BUCKET



My aunt told me this story and I will really love to share it with you all.



One evening as we were sitting in her living room, we saw a group of grown women down the street fighting.The first group was made up of six women and the other made up of two women.



As an elder in that community, my aunt walked down to see what was happening and hopely make peace. When she asked why they were fighting? One of the girls from the bigger group who seemed like their leader replied”, these women think they are all that, so we want to teach them a lesson in this community.Becauase they have won a prize for some stupid thing they invented, they now think they are more that everyone else”. The two women had just won an award for an app they joinly worked,which now causingsome jealousy and envy from the other women.However,my aunt succeeded to make peace and told them to go their separate ways.When she came back inside, she decided to give me some Godly advice about life in general and women in particular.



And she said to me,"my daughter there are two kinds of women in the world”. But I didn’t quite understand. Then she coughed as if to clear her throat and adjusted herself in her seat and said, I will classify them into two groups for you.



Group A Women



There are thinkers, doers, go-getters, up lifters, problem solvers, peacemakers and change maker. They are God fearing and know who they are. They can stand on their own and are not intimidated when others stand tall around them. They encourage, empower and inspire others because they know that women empowerment is about girls competing with each other but about women empowering and uplifting each other so they can win together. They do not prop themselves up by diminishing others. They do not bully and put down others.



Group B Women



They are toxic and poisonous, jealous, envious bitter, angry, insecure, small minded, lazy, empty vessels but makes the loudest noises, gossipers, backbiters, and backstabbers.They will not do anything but will do all they can to pull down those who try.They are negativea andenjoy life at the bottom and are like crabs in a bucket.



When she finished classifying the women into categories, she asked me, “Do you know the story of the crabs in a bucket”? No I replied.



So she narrated the story.



On one sunny afternoon a man was walking along the beach and say another man fishing in the surf with a bait bucket beside him. As he drew closer, he saw that the bait bucket had no lid and had live crabs inside. “Why don't you cover your bait bucket so the crabs won't escape?” he asked. "You don't understand.” the man replied, "If there is one crab in the bucket it would surely crawl out very quickly. However, when there are many crabs in the bucket, if one tries to crawl up the side, the others will grab hold of it and pull it back down so that it will share the same fate as the rest of them."



Do you relate to this story of the crabs in the bucket?



This is very typical with human beings and we see this happening in our communities,cycles and groups all the time. If someone tries to do something different,maybe get better grades, improve his or herself, escape from negative people, pave a different path for themselves,or dream big, other people especially those who can not do anything,will try to drag he or she back down to share their fate in the bottom.



The moral lesson



Ignore the crabs. Fire ahead and do what is right for you. If God has blessed you and have given you some great gifts and talents, go ahead and with a leap of faith, give birth to your dreams. It may not be easy and you may not succeed as much as you like, but you will NEVER share the same fate as those who never try.We have been enriched by the gifts and talents of people who have had less than "perfect" lives, whether by birth, upbringing, accident, their environment or disease - Helen Keller was deaf and blind.Nick Vujicic was born without arms and limbs.But they both chose to "climb the crab bucket" instead of listening to others or letting their disabilities to stop them from changing the world.Don't wait to be perfect neither should you let people's words and opinions to stop you from achieveing your dreams.



So here is a big question for you and some Words to pounder: Which group will you rather be? A or B and why? Please share with us.It will be nice and probably inspiring to hear your story of the crabs in the bucket.



A take home for you




  • Think about how beautiful the world will be if we could all just reach out and empower a soul around us with our lives.

  • Let your life be your message to the world and a great legacy.

  • There is room in the world for all of us and our gifts and talents so don't hold back.

  • Don't waste time looking at how green the grass on your neigbhours farm is but rather invest that time in watering your own farm to make it green too.

  • You have a gold mine right inside of you.It is your responsibilty to dig deeper and deeper until you reach there.

  • And lastly,don't compare with anyone because you are unique and special in your won right.You are imperfect but just enough the way you are.

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