"Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher."--Oprah Winfrey

It's been said there's a trick that fishermen have used for centuries to catch a certain kind of crab that lives on the floor of the ocean.

All they do is lower a large basket down to the ocean bottom, and crabs in search of food or shelter will climb into it. Within a short period of time, there may be as many as a dozen or more crabs sitting in the bottom of the basket.

The curious thing is, if one of them tries to climb out of the basket, the others will grab it with their claws and drag it back down into the bucket. If that same crab is persistent and continues to try to lift itself out of the basket, the others will pull it back down and rip its claws off. Eventually the fishermen pull up the basket and have a feast.

The moral is obvious isn't it? Many people have surrounded themselves with "crabs"- those people who will do just about anything to hold others back, keeping them from lifting themselves up and out of a situation of limitation and moving into a better place in life.

I suppose that this story supports the old adage "Misery loves company." Sometimes it makes it easier to stay stuck in our limitations if we have others to commiserate with. The good news is,

while the crabs in the basket can't do much about their situation, we can. We can choose with whom we will hangout.

There are basically two types of people in life: lifter-uppers and puller-downers. We can choose which we will be and which we will call our friends.

Is it easy to pull away from the puller-downers in our life? Of course not, because there is a huge power that comes from being part of a collective energy, even when it is negative.

So where do we begin? We set some new goals for ourselves that take us in a new direction, placing us in an environment apart from those who are not lifter-uppers. And this is a vital point: Keep your goals from the trolls!

Don't tell your plans to better your life to those whom you know will only try to discount your efforts and pull you back down. It may mean you get to hang out alone for awhile, forcing yourself out of your comfort zone and making new friends. A great place to start may be your church or other service organizations. Get involved with a group of people who are lifters, serving others, and see how you too are lifted.

Take an honest and unbiased look at the people you choose to associate with on a regular basis. Are they lifteruppers or pullerdowners?

This is not an invitation to judge anyone. This is an opportu

nity to discern where you are in your life and lift yourself up if you determine that is what's needed. After you've made your observation, if new goals are in order, write them down and share them with someone who you absolutely know is a lifter-upper.

Remember, there is great power to be found in agreement, so be clear on with whom you seek agreement. Keep your goals from the trolls!

Dennis Merritt Jones, DD, is founding pastor and spiritual director at the OneSpirit Center for Conscious Living in Simi Valley. He may be reached at (805) 5270870 or by visiting the OneSpirit website at www.OneSpirit.org or www.DennisMerrittJones.com