How To Boil A Frog

Have I ever told you the story about the frog and the hot water? Maybe you have heard of it from another wise sage.



Regardless...



In junior high, whenever we had to serve a detention sentence, we would have to hand copy a "moral story". All of these stories were intended to teach a life lesson while cramping our hand and making us vow to never do whatever it was that earned us detention in the first place...or at least vow to never get caught again.



Well, one of these stories has stuck with me. And that story my friends, is the story of the frog and the hot water.



You see, if you drop a frog into a pot of boiling water, it will jump out. The water is too damn hot. Frogs aren't that dumb. And neither are humans. But let me continue on with Mr. Frog. Now, let's say that we place the frog in luke warm water instead of boiling. The frog will just relax and chill. And as he gets comfortable, we can turn the heat up a little bit. The water gets hotter and the frog adjusts.



And we keep turning the heat up. Little by little. And before too long, the water is so hot...it's boiling. And the frog, because he has adjusted to the heat, little by little, boils right along with the water.



And it dies.



Because it got used to the hot water. It adjusted. And then, it was too late.



Life can be like this.



We can get used to it. Whatever IT is.



That's how we became fat right? We didnt wake up one day 50, 100, 250 pounds overweight. We would have said HELL NO. SOMEONE FIX THIS! It crept up on us. And we looked the other way, thought a different thought. And little by little, we let the weight creep up. Until one day we were dying.



It's not just weight though. This can happen with anything. Finances. Relationships. Work. We can adjust to the things that hurt, or are "amiss". We chalk it up to life. We become accustomed to "it". And that is a scary place to be. A dangerous slope.

But even being aware of this fact...it's hard to take a stand sometimes. It's hard to really say "This is not right". It's easier to shut that voice down.

So I have no answers or wisdom. I was just thinking about this yesterday and wanted to share with you guys. It should be noted that when I wrote the majority of this post, I was experiencing a temporary layover in pity party land.

You will be happy to know that my flight has departed and I am feeling better.

It's still a good moral lesson though don't you think? Sort of the Aesop's Fable of Frog Cooking?