Slow and Steady 🐢

A few years ago, I watched a tiny turtle hatchling claw its way out of the cavernous sandy hole that had been its safe haven. I restrained my impulse to give it a nudge over the lip of the hole - even after I watched it slide back to the bottom - twice. Slowly, painstakingly, it eventually crested and waddled straight towards the pond even though it was over a hundred yards away. Tall grass, shrubs, fallen trees, and countless other dangers did not dissuade this intrepid little snapping turtle. 

Today, I turn to the lessons of turtles in my ongoing quest to befriend - and strengthen - my nervous system. When I slow down, I give myself the gift of being able to call on the part of my brain I call Maude 👩🏼‍🦳. Inspired by the ‘slow’ in Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow, Maude embodies my slow system of thought. In order to bring my critical thinking to the table, I have to consciously call on her for help. 

Which is what I did this week with two complicated communications. I took all the time I needed to respond. Rather than relying on my quick-to jump-to-conclusions-Jimmy mind, I hit the pause button and waited until I felt calm and clear before responding. This is such a gratifying experience, after years of being compelled by an invisible but ingrained impulse that often drives me to say or do something I later regret. 

Turning on the news - even for a few moments these days - we’re likely to experience a roller coaster🎢 of emotions - or whiplash. For many, it’s similar to the cultic environments that we work so hard to put behind us. There, we experienced life in the pressure pot, driven to action by relentless demands - while being bombarded by a litany of unseen shaming, traumatizing practices that were used to keep us compliant. This wasn't good for our nervous systems then and it's not good for us today 🛑.

On the evolutionary scale, turtles are ancient - having changed very little in 200 million years! Turtles have survived multiple mass extinctions. So, let’s learn from them. Let's nurture and awaken our inner turtle selves. 

Slow and steady. There is no race. 🎉

Deep breaths my friends. Feel free to hit reply to share a recent moment of slowing down when you felt your 'wise turtle self' come online. 

And please: come out of your shell and write with us on Friday morning. 😊 There’s room for you!

PS If you haven't already heard me wax poetic about my hero, the late Daniel Kahneman, please look up his work. It was an essential support for me when I first exited the cultic group and continues to inspire me today!