Recently I received a card with a sparkly turtle on the front and I felt so seen! You see, I am a sparkly turtle; Turtle-ing is the way I navigate the world. I’m curious and love learning and experiencing new things but I’m also cautious and fearful about new experiences.
So I stick my head out of my shell and take a look around to get the lay of the land, and then I hide back in my safe space feeling a bit overstimulated and unsure how to proceed. When I’m rested up, I come out again with renewed enthusiasm and energy and then retreat back into my shell, exhausted with a bit of a vulnerability hangover. Then I stretch my neck out again beginning to feel more grounded and confident in my explorations. And so it goes. I often call this slow process gentleness and baby steps, now I also sometimes call it “turtling.”
I have inner voices that say “why do you have to be so SLOW and cautious? Why are you fearful and avoidant? Why are you hiding?” But when I picture myself as a sparkly turtle, then it makes perfect sense that I move slow and have moments of avoidance and hiding. That’s what this awesome sparkly shell is for! I know I’ll get there at my own pace and if I expect myself to be a rabbit or a cheetah, the journey is only going to be more painful. Accepting that I am a sparkly turtle is self-compassion. I can grateful for my protective mechanisms and also celebrate the ways I shine.
Which sparkly animal are you? And are you ready to accept, and maybe even celebrate, your unique ways of navigating the world?
