Once upon a time a young girl stood, innocent blue eyes and flowing blonde hair, just thirteen with the world ahead of her. She glowed with exuberance as she presented her best friend a great gift. A hermit crab. You see they were roommates in a dorm and were not allowed pets. The friend had always lived in a home filled with furry creatures and longed to have a pet again. The young girl had perplexed over the perfect present for her friend and was elated when the dorm mother acquiesced to her giving the precious friend a living creature to love and care for, even if it was a hermit crab.
She saved her money as the days passed, waiting patiently for her trip to the pet store. At last the day came. She moved deliberately, choosing the perfect cage, the little adornments, the food, and all the accoutrements to make this crab’s life a happy one. She spent her last quarter, the one she was saving for a coke for the walk home. Elated she carried her treasure trove back to the dorm. Beside herself with anticipation of the best friend’s joy, she placed the gift before the friend. The friend lifted the cover… and screamed.
She was scared of crabs. “No, no!” the girl assured her, “they are wonderful pets. I read all about them. See there’s nothing to be afraid of,” she exclaimed and with that she picked up the crab and placed it on her own outstretched palm. The crab, jostled and tussled too much in one day, promptly latched onto her skin, squeezing the young girl’s tender skin until the blood ran. The girl screamed, “Get it off! Get it off!” Girls ran into the room as she shook her hand, jumping up and down, trying to no avail to rid herself of the monster. The dorm mother tried to pry it off with a knife as tears of terror filled the girl’s eyes. The pain was excruciating. The sense of being trapped and helpless was even worse than the pain. The harder they tried to remove the crab, the deeper it buried its claws into the poor girl’s hand.
In the midst of the hubbub, twenty girls yelling and pushing, shouting suggestions as to how to pry it off, a moment of clarity came to the girl. “He is just scared,” she said, “that is why he keeps holding on, even though in holding on he is only creating more of what he fears.” Bravely, she faced her own fear. Blinking back her tears she walked determinedly through the circle of girls, sat on the couch, and gently lay her open, still bleeding palm on the table beside the couch. She slowed her breathing, ignored the pain, and stared with understanding at the simple little creature affixed to her hand. Slowly, carefully, the little crab let go of her skin and with what she perceived to be a look of gratitude and understanding quietly walked off her hand.
She learned a powerful lesson that day – all creatures great and small cling to that which they are most afraid of, even though in their clinging they continue to create that which they fear. Sometimes, she realized, the best thing to do when you are afraid is to quietly sit down and let the fear just walk away.
The crab tale is a great story!
Posted by: James | January 22, 2007 at 12:34 AM