We all need a safe space in which to explore who we really are: a place free of judgments, a place to go deeper into ourselves and discover who we are so that we can continue to grow.
Believe it or not, we can learn a lot from lobsters.
When lobsters are born, they are mushy. Then, they build their shell.
But after a while, the shell constrains them. It gets uncomfortable, and they can’t grow anymore. So they have to break through that shell.
To do that, they go into a safe place, like under a rock or in a cave. They break the shell, and then they’re mushy again — and they begin to grow.
After a little while, another shell forms over their new and larger self, and they come back out into their ocean world. Lobsters do this about 25 times in their first five to seven years of life.
What can we learn from the lobster?
When we start to feel uncomfortable, when the pressures and stress of life begin to weigh on us, we have a desire to break free. In those moments, it’s time to find a safe place to go and break the shell, to see what’s underneath and allow ourselves room to grow.
When we’re ready, we can put the shell back on and go out into the world again, as someone who has broken free from self- or culturally-imposed limitations.
It doesn’t matter who you are, whether you’re a parent at home caring for a family or the CEO of a corporation. You can come out into the world as the best of who you are, not who you think you ought to be.
There’s a life we live in, and there’s also a life within us. To close the gap between the two, to live the life that we innately desire, depends on our mastery of our inner world. Just like the lobster, we need to give ourselves the time and space to grow.
But what happens to the lobster when he gets thrown into boiling water?
If the lobster has lived a full and meaningful life, then when he’s in that boiling water he will be so content, he won’t even realize that the water is boiling.
That’s where we all want to be when we reach the rocking-chair stage of life: at peace with the life we have lived.
Do you have a safe place to take off your shell and grow? Tell me on my Facebook page.
