I was sitting by ‘our’ lake with a friend the other day and he told me this story.

His brother had recently come out to a nearby State Park to spend the day with his wife and kids. They decided to rent a rowboat and paddle around on the lake. The whole time he was struggling to row. Grunting and swearing. He was thinking, Why is this so hard? I didn’t think I was this out of shape! Am I just too old to row? How heavy is this boat?

They spent some time in the middle of the lake enjoying a floating picnic lunch, and then they decided to row back to hang out on the beach. He was struggling and sweating as he approached the docking area. Completely exhausted, and making a vow to himself to get back to the gym. ASAP!

There, he saw another family getting in a boat and preparing to head out. He watched as the mom helped the children get settled into their life jackets. He watched as the dad leaned over the side of the boat, and grabbed a rope, then hand over hand, slowly and with much effort, pulled up the makeshift DIY anchor; a Home Depot bucket half-full of concrete.

It was then that he realized he had been dragging that heavy anchor along with him the entire time! He felt ridiculous and relieved all at once, and broke out into hysterical laughter.

I laughed, and thanked my friend for sharing this wonderful story. A modern day fable with a whole boatload of morals to choose from.

Which one shall we choose today?