"So?"he said."Er...so what?""So what do you really want to do?"he asked. My father was a lawyer,and I had always assumed he wanted me to go to law school,and follow his path through life."I want to travel,and I want to be a writer."I replied. This was not the answer he would expect."Interesting idea,"he said."I kind of wish I'd done that when I was your age."I wailed. "You have plenty of time.You need to find out what you really enjoy now.Look,it's late. Let's take the boat out tomorrow morning,just you and me. Maybe we can catch some crabs for dinner,and we can talk more." Early next morning we set off along the coast. We didn't talk much,but enjoyed the sound of the seagulls and the sight of the coastline and the sea beyond. There was no surf on the coastal waters at that time."Let's see if we get lucky,"he said,picked up a mesh basket with a rope attached and threw it into the sea. We waited a while,then my father stood up and said,"Give me a hand with this,"and we pulled up the crab cage onto the deck. The cage was filled with dozens of soft shell crabs."Why don't they try to escape?" "just watch them for a moment. Look at that one,there!He's trying to climb out,but every time the other crabs pull him back in,"said my father. After several times,not only did the crab give up its struggle to escape,but it actually began to help stop other crabs trying to escape.He'd finally chosen an easy way of life. Suddenly I understood why my father had suggested catching crabs that morning. He looked at me. "Don't get pulled back by the others,"he said."Spend some time figuring out who you are and what you want in life.Think about what's really important to you,what really interests you,what skills you have.If you can't answer these questions now,then take some time to find out. Because if you don't,you'll never be happy." My father started the motor and we set off back home. What did the father advise the son to do?
To get to understand himself better. To watch what others do more carefully. To realize one cannot always get what one wants. To always follow his father.