Tortoise Medicine
It was a cross country drive with stops along the way. Little did I know tortoise medicine would be along for the ride. Days into the trip and full of anxious, planning, sightseeing mind I decided to get grounded by biking desert trails in Nevada.
Rounding a corner I squeezed brakes to avoid hitting a desert tortoise. We chatted for a few minutes before traveling our separate ways. Returning to the truck I read the animal totem for tortoise. The message: slow down; do not try to do too much; pull in; make time for yourself: you have all you need within. Good medicine for what I struggle with.
That encounter was needed. Most needed. It was the true beginning of the trip. Finding strength in the message I surrendered to the moment. The day. The trip. Arriving at a different pace of letting go and letting be.
Miles later on a dirt road aiming for the grasslands of northeast Oklahoma, I stopped to offer aid to another tortoise. He or she, had been hit by something moving faster. The tortoise had been flipped over and part of the shell broken exposing the fleshy interior of vulnerability. Moving the tortoise into the grass along the road I said a prayer and moved on.
Indigenous people of those lands regard the tortoise as the symbol of mother nature. In other traditions the tortoise is regarded as the bridge between earth and heaven. The flat bottom being earth and rounded shell representing heavens above. The body being the bridge between the two. Turtles and tortoises make a connection to the underworld by burrowing into the desert floor and diving deep into oceans mysteries. An Iroquois myth tells of water birds leaving bits of earth on the backs of turtles helping the earth grow and expand. The turtles shell supporting all life.
Reflecting on the moment it was clear that humans are moving at reckless and inconsiderate speeds resulting in harm to mother nature. We race by the place we call home and sustains all.
On our way to somewhere we think important. What is to become of us if we do not remain connected to what supports us from below.
As the trip neared its end I visited with a joyous and creative friend in Baltimore. He makes more art than a museum can hold. As usual he offered me a piece to take home. This time an old style table leg he had fashioned into a tortoise head. Filled with gratitude, I heart-fully accepted knowing good medicine when offered. It was a moment and reminder to slow down and be amazed by gifts all around. Human and more than human.
WOW First Sunday is June 5th from 2PM to 4 PM EST and it’s FREE!
Hughes Kraft will be our speaker and he will be referencing the above blog during his session.
Register now on Eventbrite or join us via ZOOM .
See you there!