A well-known fable tells of a frog that has jumped into a pot of water recently placed on a stove. As easily as it jumped in it is able to jump back out. However, the frog is happy to have found a little water and a moist place to settle for a while. The problem is, the water is getting warmer, and will soon boil. The story goes that although the frog can jump back out, it stays in the water—in perceived comfort and security—and boils to death. 

It is also said, “If you want to know about water, don’t ask a fish!”

The frog and the fish are living in something that is having a shaping effect on them: the water of their world. The way that we think about and approach the questions, issues, and decisions of life will be shaped by the water of our worlds. Just like with the frog and the fish, this happens whether we are aware of it or not. 

With the frog image, the shaping effect is slow and subtle, and the frog continues doing what seems good and right for a frog. The message of the fish image is slightly different. The fish is so immersed in its world of water that it knows nothing outside of the water. Even if it feels confident to commentate on the water, its understanding will suffer from a certain naivety that comes from not experiencing a bigger picture. 

We can equate the water of the frog and the fish to the culture in which we live. 

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