“My favorite animal is the turtle. The reason is that in order for the turtle to move, it has to stick its neck out. There are going to be times in your life when you're going to have to stick your neck out. There will be challenges and instead of hiding in a shell, you have to go out and meet them.” —Ruth Westheimer
I have always been fascinated by stories and turtles. I grew up reading stories about the Indian mythology and culture (Amar Chitra Katha books) and others like the Aesop fables. One of my favorite stories is about the Kurma Avatar (Sanskrit: “Tortoise”) one of the ten avatars (incarnations) of the God Vishnu. In this incarnation Lord Vishnu is associated with the myth of the churning of the ocean to obtain amrita, the elixir of immortality to overcome evil. Lord Vishnu incarnates himself as a turtle to provide the firm foundation needed to steady the mountain needed for the churning.
Amongst the Aesop fables, I really like The Hare and The Tortoise. The moral of the story: slow but steady wins the race. Rather than reacting quickly, carelessly and arrogantly, one can be successful and achieve purpose by doing things with presence and focus. (A bit of trivia, all tortoises are in fact turtles—that is, they belong to the order Testudines or Chelonia, reptiles having bodies encased in a bony shell—but not all turtles are tortoises.)
Turtles are known for their ability to stay grounded and pace themselves, for their determination, persistence, emotional strength and understanding. They are also known for their wisdom.
These are the same qualities attributed with mitigating fatigue, stress and burnout, promoting resilience, giving meaning, living with purpose and joy. How easy it is to forget this when we get caught in the busyness each day and feel a perpetual sense of time poverty! We need to know when to stick out our neck, or take a pause for the sake of our body and soul.
We also need the wisdom and slow but steady pace of the tortoise when it comes to changing the systems and culture of medicine. Resilience cannot lead to professionalism or thriving in medicine without leaders who bring about systems change (which this article so aptly describes). “… Clare Gerada in the BMJ rightly regrets that “structures within medicine where doctors can come together to train, work, play, and reflect together have been reduced or removed completely…The lack of those informal spaces threatens our ability to build the resilience we need to work.”
About ten years ago some of my residents were selected to go to Hawaii to present their novel research. I was very proud and supported their efforts. When they came back the students brought me a gift of a handmade turtle. They had no idea I loved turtles.
I received the turtle gift around the time I was considering where I belonged in my personal life and professional life. I felt I had been retreating and hiding myself for so long. I would take off and put on different hats depending on who I was with—my children, my parents, my students, my colleagues, The Multiple Hat Syndrome! Who was I at that point? The shell protects the shy inner self, just as the hat shades the eyes from harsh sunlight or signals to others what they can expect of us. But if we hide our whole self forever inside the shell, or live a life where we do not honor the many roles we play as humans, we cannot experience wholeness. When we avoid integrating the many roles in our lives, it’s like wearing too many weighty hats until they obscure our vision and damage our health. Do we burst and shatter from unbearable pain, the weight or collapse into our own version of a black hole? Unlike the turtle, our shell can go from being protective to destructive!
The turtle actually carries its home with it on its back. As I think of that more, it reminds me that they are self-aware, they are always “home”, at one with their inner self, something we spend years practicing through meditation or Rajya Yoga.
It’s as if turtles don’t need the outside world to define who they are or how they show up. They take time to understand their environment, to discern when to stick their neck out and when to peacefully go about on their own journey with determination and a focused purpose.
Holding the wooden turtle in my hand often, I pledged to start with taking time to build rest, relaxation and rejuvenation at work for myself and my community, we started the RRRR sessions (Relaxing, Rejuvenation and Rejoicing in Residency). It was one step toward a culture of more authentic well-being.
In 2017, I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to visit Japan and the Narita-san Shinshō-ji Temple. As I descended the stairs from the temple by the pond, on this rock was a bale of turtles. I just stood and stared for a long time. They seem so content and peaceful, not one of them moved, as if in deep meditation. Another much needed reminder from these wise beings!
As I stood and stared, I wondered: How often do I take time to stop even for a few minutes in the day to simply take in whatever is there before me? How often to I truly connect with my body, my spirit?
This past weekend, while out with my dear friend and walking buddy, we saw this wonderful sight: turtles making ripples in the muddy water, what absolute joy!
Another reminder: When I do take time to be present, how does that change my perspective and allow for spaciousness?
#REFLECT: How do you know when to slow down and be present? When are you ready to stick your neck out?
How is the coronavirus and civil unrest around racism changing the way you think of self-care, community and resilience? As this challenging time unfolds, I am posting a quote on this blog with a reflection prompt. Please join in the conversation here or on Twitter or Instagram with your thoughts or what you are doing for self-care and care of others. My book explores such ideas too: Resilient Threads: Weaving Joy and Meaning into Well-Being.
The simile of a turtle is so very apt in relation to choices. Although we have evolved so far from the amphibian stage of the turtle according to the Darwinian theory, we still maintain the gift of choice which the turtle has, the choice, to do or not to do!
The key word in the quote, however, is ‘when’. The turtle chooses the time for sticking the neck out as part of its basic instincts, i.e. of protection and preservation. We, on the other hand, have the option of mindful thinking before taking the risks and jumping into the fray.
The question of ‘when’ for us is decided by our assessment of the necessity and appropriateness of our action. The wise use this privilege, the unwise keep sticking their necks out always or never dare to do so. Perhaps turtle is the blessed one who is spared the torture of this mindful thinking and therefore happy to stay with its basic instincts. We, on the other hand, must pay the price of being mindful. But then who knows turtle’s mind!
Three things that favor the wise are, confidence, courage, and concerns.
Confidence comes from the knowledge of the subject or the occasion. Courage comes from the preparedness to face the consequences, and the concerns come from the values of compassion and being fair.
Wisdom also says, look before you leap, think before you speak! These two proverbs define the appropriateness and the timing for our actions, to act, react or to hold on to our horses and stay put.
While we say that sticking our neck out required courage, let us not forget that restraining ourselves from not sticking our neck out also requires courage.
Calculated inaction or masterly inactivity is a sign of strength and wisdom. It is like willful silence that can answer many questions or can avoid arguments, conflicts, and confrontations.
It is unlike inertia which is a sign of weakness and immaturity.
It is thus our choice as to when to mind our own business or to stick our neck out. As for the timing of this ‘when’, we have to depend on our knowledge and experiences, and on our awareness of the context, surroundings and expected repercussions.
The same principle applies for the pace of our actions and reactions. One has to tailor these individually according to one’s own capabilities, opportunities and needs. Physiologically and scientifically, taking a break by either slowing down or by taking a pause or break is refreshing and rejuvenating. It is like recharging your batteries, after all, the body is only a humanized machine. These breaks also provide space to increase the dimensions of our critical thinking and rationalizing our thoughts. This makes it even more logical to vary the pace of our actions, to slow down and to take breaks occasionally in order to create a balance between the magnitude of tasks and the paucity of time
Lastly, what decides this ‘when’ for the timing and the pace of our actions and reactions is our threshold of tolerance. This is subjective depending on our personality and perceptions as well the prevailing context. There is no single common yardstick that can be applied across the board.
Mukta quoted the story of turtle and hare. This too is very significant since the pace of the two is not contradictory but complimentary as it relates to our lives.
It is necessary to run like the hare to win the hundred-meter sprint race, but to win a marathon, we must follow the turtle.