Dear Source friends,
I was on a walk in Point Defiance with my brother this last weekend, and we were talking about all the happenings in life. For me, a busy summer lies ahead – a senior in high school finishing up, a graduation party to host, multiple trips for my daughter’s sport, getting ready to send my son off to college, and preparing myself to start grad school in the fall.
As we were walking alongside the road near the dog park, I noticed a car pulled over. I glanced over and did a double take, as a man got out of the driver’s side with something in his hand, walked a few feet away into the forest, and set down what looked like a turtle.
It was actually a tortoise – a red footed tortoise, to be exact. My brother and I curiously walked across the street to talk to him, and he told us all about his pet – 4 years old, 6 inches long or so, can live over 100 years, and grow to 12-15 inches. He was beautiful, and we spent several minutes watching him as he slowly and steadily explored the terrain of the forest floor.
What struck me about this whole interaction, was the simple, strange fact that this man was taking the time to walk his tortoise in the forest. Who has time to take a tortoise for a walk in the woods? Moving at the pace of, well, a tortoise. I know people take the time to walk their dogs, but, well, you sort of have to, don’t you? And you get a bit of exercise too, right? But a tortoise could probably live fairly contentedly in a terrarium. In fact this man described the tortoise’s home, which honestly sounded pretty comfortable and spacious. But this man took the time to bring his tortoise to the woods for a Sunday stroll.
Walking away, it wasn’t lost on me the childhood story of the tortoise and the hare. I feel like I’ve been a bit of a hare lately, scrambling from thing to thing. My days filled with lists and doings. There’s a reality to my being in a certain phase of life that is particularly full. I accept that. I know it won’t be this way forever.
But this did make me think that perhaps I could use a little bit of tortoise energy this summer. A little slowing down. Taking myself for a slow walk in the forest (without the ulterior motive to get steps in, heartrate up, miles covered). I know that slow and steady always wins the race for me. When I am moving too fast, things get dropped, I forget things, I injure myself, or I just am not fully experiencing what is around me.
So perhaps you need this reminder too? To slow down, to take a slow walk in the woods, to do something at a tortoise’s pace for no reason other than to enjoy the terrain.
With Care,
Erin Joosse | she/her
Source Yoga | studio director
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