Sat, 19 Mar 2011

Take a turtle for a walk . . . and let him set the pace

I heard this the other day in passing and thought it was a good idea for all of us. The point is to slow down and look around. It's been said a number of ways, including what is probably the most famous

Stop and smell the roses

But walking with a turtle at his pace has a bit different aspect to it. When you stop to smell flowers, you are maintaining your usual hectic pace, stop for a bit, and resume the hectic pace. You may only stop to smell the roses because you know they are there and you stop regularly or because this particular patch of flowers has a particularly strong, appealing smell which reaches you.

But, when you take the pace of the turtle, you are forced to slow down all aspects of you journey and take a look around. It's like traveling by plane and by train. On a plane, you see your starting point, perhaps the airport where you transfer, and your final destination. All those vast distances in between are missed. When you travel by train, you look out the window and see the panorama of all those places in between as you pass through them.

Do we miss things just because we are speeding through life at a pace which only allows us to stop at those places we have planned or which are especially appealing to our already formed opinions. Or do we take the pace of the turtle occasionally and see what's around us? Are we open to the surprise of things other than the ones we already agree to and know are there? Are we open to new ideas and directions and take the time to actually explore them? Like the turtle, we should make time to not only stop and smell the roses, but enjoy all the sites and smells along our journey.

posted 08:56 [/Thoughts] permanent link