Life Lessons from the Electric Eel: Guarding Against Self-Inflicted Pain
Yesterday, as I watched the National Geographic Channel, I learned about the electric eel. For the first time, I learnt the actual name is Electrophorus electricus.
The fish is commonly found in the Amazon and generally in freshwaters. According to the documentary, Electric Eels are mostly blind, though they are not born blind. To me, they are such beautiful creatures, and I was wondering why they are blind? I then read about them and came to understand that these animals have three pairs of abdominal organs that produce electricity as a form of defensive mechanism against predators. Whenever the animal is under attack, it activates an electric field of up to 860 Volts (nearly 4 times the 220V electricity supplied to our homes) to electrocute its attacker.
The Eel also requires rising to the surface of the water every 10 minutes in order to take in Oxygen before going back under the water. Due to this routine, the fish has developed a mindset that it is vulnerable to attack due to constantly coming up to breathe; hence, it is always in a ‘suspicion mode’ – It is always and constantly electrocuting its environment even when it is not under attack. The sad effect is that in the course of continuously electrocuting its environment, its eyes are also electrocuted; hence, its blindness!
But then, as I watched this animal swimming around blind and only using its sense of feel and ears, and being unable to see, it became more suspicious, and every movement it feels in the waters, it releases further electric shock, thus worsening its own plight. The animal thus goes into a cyclic paranoia and self-infliction of pain that causes it to be further blind beyond remedy.
You see, such is the situation in some people’s lives. They suspect everybody and everything! They always have a mindset that ‘someone is undoing me’, ‘something evil is going to happen to me’, ‘someone is planning to harm me’, etc. By having this kind of mental picture, such people release shock waves that electrocute whoever comes near them. Friends who mean well are branded enemies; parents are considered evil; siblings are suspected of hatching evil plots; colleagues at work are branded enemies, etc.
When people go into such a self-destructive mode, all they think about is themselves and not the feelings of others. The desire to protect oneself ends up hurting others. Let us all strive to cultivate a positive attitude of love and treat each other in a brotherly manner.
Think and reflect on these things.
by Kwasi Agyenim Boateng
Meditation: Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law. – Romans 13:10
Through the Love of Christ, Our Savior, All Will Be Well!
Also read:
- Rules for Happiness: Simple Truths That Set the Heart Free
- Understanding the Devil: The Master of Disguise
- Men in the Bible: Methuselah – A Man of Opposites
- Parenting: How to Make Life Easier for Your Children
- I Have Moved: A Reflection on Leaving Poverty Thinking Behind
- A Testimony of Faith Through My Son’s Hospitalisation
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