Slow is Fast Enough!

Slow is Fast Enough!

Living with multiple sclerosis and chronic back pain makes me live life at a much slower pace.  Let me tell you, this has been so hard for me.  I do better with this sometimes than others.  I often feel like a bridled horse raring to go wanting so badly to run through an open green pasture like the wind.  Well, that's a "NO" for me, for sure.  It is so tough holding back my desire to go and do more than my body can tolerate.  I need to always go less, do less and operate at a slower pace.  A motto that I adopted some years ago that helps me stay on track more times than not is, "Slow is fast enough!"  If something requires me to operate faster and doing too much then this something requires me to assess if this is best for me to be involved in or not.  This is sometimes a daily inventory or assessment and sometimes less frequent, but whatever the frequency is, it is extremely important for me to make sure the logistics of each day do not cross the line into the danger zone for my body and well-being.

I have always loved and connected with the classic story of The Tortoise and the Hare.  As a child I remember loving this story, reading it over and over as well as watching any cartoon that was from this story.  I loved it when each of my 4 daughters would choose this story off the bookshelves for me to read to them.  There is just something about the well-known phrase that the turtle shared in this story, "Sure and Steady Wins the Race."  The message that this creature, the turtle, a very ancient soul living in the seas/oceans, deserts, and the forests brings to our lives has multiple applicable meanings. Also just the appearance and natural action of the turtle has powerful symbolism.  Let's explore the turtle.  The turtle has few predators due to its ability to easily withdraw into its shell with its amazing self-defense mechanism. This of course increases its lifespan lending a further symbolic meaning for longevity in many cultures.  The turtle is one of the oldest living animals walking on our earth today with some fossils of turtles aged at over 200 million years old. With this fact, the turtle is also symbolized with endurance, persistence, strength, courage, knowledge, resiliency, security and tenacity as well as the continuation of life against unbelievable circumstances.  To me there is such an innocence about the turtle.  The sure and steady pace of the turtle demonstrates its insistent desire to remain active and living on this earth.  This clear fact about the turtle embodies the significance of the turtle being a guide, a mentor in living a full, dynamic, fruitful and long life which aligns with taking the very best care of ourselves in order to have a long enriched life.   The turtle goes into his home whenever he feels threatened, retreating inside to the safety of his dwellings from the uncertainties of the world.  The turtle understands the need for self protection, and the protection of those we love.  The turtle as a spiritual animal teaches us to seek our inner wisdom by "going inside" finding peace, safety and to take a spiritual journey which paves the way for tapping into one's greater imagination and intuition revealing that anything is possible.

This serves to show us that if the turtle can live this way, we too can do the same, creating a spiritual shield that is our spiritual armor against negativity, harmful influences, and painful experiences or memories.  This spiritual living being gracefully teaches us about the art of life's changes and our need to adapt to new surroundings, environments and circumstances.  From here I have learned to experiment with new concepts and ideas, while maintaining a comfortable self pace. There is a Native American Turtle Totem that tells us that the turtle teaches by example for us not to push ourselves so fast in life; moving way too fast creates more errors in decisions.  If we fail to take the time to think about our direction in life, we miss a lot of the beauties and opportunities in life as well as being able to fully experience and embrace the essence of life. The turtle exemplifies the wisdom of knowing that all things come to be in perfect and divine timing by practicing patience.  With patience and retreating we have the opportunity to gather our inner wisdom, emerge strengthened and better prepared to move forward.  The turtle takes its wisdom by living one day at a time - not reacting, simply accepting, and moving in its own natural peaceful way.  Living this similar pattern in our daily life and seeing our connection to all things opens us up to a fuller and richer life experience.  One may see turtles as slow, peaceful creatures that do not seem as if they are capable to travel very far in life.  However in reality, there are many paths open to turtles, especially sea turtles, who make their way over thousands of miles across the ocean annually with the assistance of currents and tides.  The turtle freely surrenders in unconditional trust knowing that they will be okay and will arrive where and when they are meant to be.   This is a beautiful message to apply to our everyday lives - to truly enjoy the journey of your life, to trust in the flow of nature while experiencing and acknowledging the bountiful blessings along the way.  The turtle has a message for us if we choose to embrace it - relax into life, enjoy the journey as it unfolds with an openness to understand that the destination is not the only focus.

Love,
Lisa