The Turtle: taking the long view
This fall during my plant dieta in Peru (the art of learning deeply from a “master plant”) with Shihuacho, an ancient jungle tree that grows to over 1000 years old, I was led to the exploration of Turtle Medicine. This spirits of this ancient tree and this ancient reptile taught me to embrace slowness, depth, and a much longer conception of time. I came to see that my nervous system was learning something new (and ancient). It was the opposite of what I came to recognize in myself and the world as “the state of emergency.”
The turtle is a slow, deliberate creature, close to the ground. She can’t see too far ahead, and doesn’t know when she’ll “get there,” yet always takes the next step with presence and beauty.
The state of emergency is when we are not able to trust that we are safe and taken care of. There are times when it is appropriate to respond quickly and that any move we make has life or death consequences. But when I look at myself and other modern western culture humans, I see this state of revved up energy, attached to anxiety/worry/self-judgment, is most of the time not necessary, and leads to an enormous amount of stress on the body/mind. When we really take a breath and return to this present moment, we find that there is no emergency at all. Biologically, when our animal body is in an emergency state, our prefrontal cortex goes offline and it is hard to make true sense of anything!
One area where I see this “state of emergency” take root is in making decisions. All of our wellness and future security seems to ride on whether we make the “right decision” now. We want to know exactly how this decision is going to play out in our life, and the fear of making the wrong decision can be crippling. Future fearful scenarios can run wild.
This is often based on a limited view of time. The truth is that we can’t know an assured outcome of any given decision. Alternatively, if we can place a “state of slow trust” into our process, we can relax into the longer scope of our lives, of life, and of love, that has an unfolding story WAY beyond what our mind can see or understand. This takes the pressure off of us having to know the outcome, because we can’t! And helps us trust that we can safely take that next step, which will, like the turtle walks, lead to the next step, and slowly but surely, bring us where we need to go.
When I remember to call upon the turtle and this ancient tree for help I feel this slow trust state wash over me. The things I thought were problems become less important and I am able to more fully experience the moment I am in. This allows me to take bold and courageous steps in my life in a clear, grounded and trusting way.
New moon turtle/tree exercise: What decision or potential action has felt cloudy for you, unclear, unsure of late? What is the “state of emergency” story that your mind is telling you about this decision? See if you can take some distance from these thoughts and see them, even for a moment, as a story coming from a short scope of time.
Then elongate your timeline to beyond this life. If you have trouble doing this, sit by an old tree or rock (or call upon the turtle) and ask them to teach you of patience and slowness. From this perspective listen for your direction. Spend a good amount of time breathing and sinking into what you hear. When the emergency state returns, notice how it takes over your body/mind, and keep inviting your awareness back to your connection to deep turtle/tree time.
What are you able to see from this perspective? How does it change your body sensations? Are you willing to take the next step?
