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The turtle within...

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The turtle within each of us…

The desire to pull my neck back, hide within my shell and wake up refreshed in a year or so is overwhelming… while at the same time unrealistic. But don’t we all wish for this at one time or another? The need to hide, retreat, run away or pull back from life’s problems? The need to feel comfort within ourselves and our own surroundings? The need to escape reality only to hope that reality is not the truth and only a manifestation of one day that changed the course of a lifetime?

When the inner turtle creeps in I need to keep reminding myself to keep my neck out, and be as strong as that mighty shell which is always protecting me. I have to relinquish control while remaining grounded and still connected to my own being, while accepting the darkest of times within the slow race but knowing there is always a new day tomorrow.

But sometimes, my shell is not as strong as I think it is. Often times, it starts to crack… a new piece of negative information gathered, another lie revealed, a desire to question why? This is when I ask for strength, patience and the power to not be angry.

If these qualities can latch on and encompass my being then maybe my strength will allow my neck to have the ability to lift my face to the sunshine of tomorrow, my ability to forgive and keep anger at bay allow my shell, in its unique pattern, to protect me and not lash out using my shell as a weapon but rather as a defensive tool to protect all that is gentle, innocent and kind. And with patience the hope that acceptance will move me forward.


The acceptance that the process is slow and therefore long, and with each new day gradual steps are taken and life continues to move forward with the end journey slowly emerging. For even at this turtle’s pace… the sun rises each morning, the birds sing, the flowers bloom, dreamers dream, children grow up, more wrinkles appear and life is all encompassing with its dramatic beauty… and the turtle always finds its way.

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