The Random Thoughts of Henry Holloway
Before the hustling days of ice and of ‘cutters’ rushing to and fro between Billingsgate and the Dogger Bank many fishing boats were built with a large tank in their holds, through which the sea flowed freely. The East Coast fishermen kept them chiefly for cod, hoping to bring the fish fresh and good to market but the fishermen were disappointed. They found that the fish arrived slack, flabby and limp, though well fed and in apparent health. They were greatly perplexed until some fisherman of genius decided that the cod lived too contentedly in these tanks and suffered from not having enough activity.
So he got some catfish, which are natural enemies of the codfish and he put one into each of his tanks. His fish came to market firm, brisk and wholesome. The whole business remained a mystery to his companions, for he wouldn’t give away the secret. After his death the secret was published and, of course, there was a great demand for catfish.
The catfish is the demon of the deep and it keeps things lively. There are some folk who are just a wee bit like the catfish. You know how it is! We often say that people rub us the wrong way. I remember once having a little bit of a difference with an old minister. I was just a young fellow at the time and I knew everything. In a burst of irritation I said to him: ‘Oh, I’m all right if people take me the right way’. I never forgot his reply: ‘You shouldn’t be like a cat, always having to be stroked the right way.’
A good many of the irritations of life come to us just because we aren’t at peace with ourselves. And in certain moods almost anybody or anything upsets us. Nevertheless, even in our best moments, some folk seem to have the knack of saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing. They are the catfish of life and they certainly make things lively.
I remember another old minister once saying to me that the good Lord seemed to put a catfish into every church. I don’t know about that, but certainly we find them everywhere.
Do you rub people the wrong way? Chesterton once said: ‘A man’s friends like him, but they leave him as he is. A man’s wife loves him, and is always trying to change him.’
Whatever about the changing I think we all need a little bit more sympathy and encouragement. And the best way to get rid of the catfish temperament is to go all out to find something you can honestly say to encourage the people you know.
Dr. Arnold never forgot the tearful protest of a little fellow at school who looked up into his face and sobbed: ‘Why are you so angry, sir? I’m doing my best.’ If life has been easy for you, don’t forget that for some other people it has meant fighting every yard of the road.
You’ve got to be considerate with people and patient with their faults. An English minister told of a dog he had of which he was very fond. One day he was driving home and as he neared the gate the dog ran out to welcome him. She jumped up at the horse’s head and the horse reared and the driver lost control so that a wheel of the trap went over the dog. When he jumped out to pick her up and carry her inside she turned and bit his arm -‘Not’, he said, ‘because she was angry with me, but because she was in pain.’
Sometimes when folk snap at you try to remember that some secret pain may be eating at their heart. And when you are tempted to snap at other people, stop and ask yourself: ‘What’s wrong with me, anyway?’ I think the secret of a happy life is a quiet mind. Jesus said once: ‘My peace I give unto you.’
| Previous |