Several years ago I was visiting the Guggenheim Museum when I came across a painting that absolutely captivated me: Lobster and Cat by Pablo Picasso. Completed in 1965, this painting reveals the artist’s sense of humor as he depicts aggression provoking fear. Here is what I see; A clash of two worlds.
Look at the surprise and defensive posture of the terrestrial dwelling feline as it suddenly finds itself face to face with the alien seafloor dwelling crustacean in an aggressive stance. Bristled tail, arched back, mouth agape, and claws unsheathed as it experiences antennae forward, claws opened, head up, and tail flat. It is obvious that neither animal really understands what the other is; their instincts take over.
What if the lobster, who has entered the realm of the cat, didn’t condemn the cat’s world and instead taught the cat the struggles of being a lobster finding itself on land? What if the cat unhunched its back and sheathed its claws and just sat and listened and acknowledged the lobster’s situation. Rather than telling the lobster it was an alien and did not belong on the land, the cat shared with the lobster the nature of cats. Imagine a world where a lobster could be free to be a lobster; exoskeleton, gills, coldblooded, and the whole nine yards. Imagine a world where the cat is respected for its cat-ness; mammalian fur, warm blooded, air breathing, and the whole package.
If only the two animals respected each other’s perspective…even if the did not agree. Maybe both could come to see the beach as something that could be shared…maybe there is room in the land for both.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, when confronted by a worldview that is different from our own, we could sit down, have a cup of coffee, and talk with and listen to one another? Wouldn’t it be nice if we could teach rather than attack?
I will let you decide if you are the lobster or the cat.
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Matt 7:12 ESV
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As a cat person, I believe the lobster is the aggressor here. Waving those claws around like that the poor cat is backed up to the frame! Seriously though, this speaks to fear and how it hinders communication. We need to start being the first to put fear aside and open our hearts even though we might get pinched for it!
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Unfortunately, our culture is currently driven by fear or “the other.”. We are programmed to attack rather than teach…to argue rather than listen. But we must also work to be comfortable in our own skin…fur…shell even when the other puts us on the defensive.
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I think we just want to be acknowledged. It lets us know we are alive and have some purpose. We’ll do anything to get that acknowledgment even fight with one another.
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