Don’t Step on the Snail
TL;DR
It's SO easy to rush through life feeling like there's not enough time for anything.
But what if every time we felt like we were behind with a goal or a project or a relationship, we actually weren’t?
Maybe, just maybe, everything takes the time it takes.
Have you ever actually watched a snail cross a sidewalk before?
Nope?
Me neither.
Until a few weeks ago.
I was in California for my niece’s college graduation, and as I was rushing back from the gym to my hotel room to get back to work, I was a split-second away from stepping on a snail.
I barely caught myself from completely squashing this snail, who was just doing its thing…….. so………………………. incredibly…………………….. s…l…..o…..w….l…..y.
It kinda blew my mind.
First, I just stopped and knelt down to examine it.
Yep. Definitely a snail.
Then I decided to sit on the side of the sidewalk and watch it make its way. I nearly ended its life, the least I could do was stay and make sure it got safely across.
Oh my god, you guys — this was HARD!
Crazy hard, to slow down my mind, my thinking, my breath and my whole self to just BE present in this moment with this snail.
As I watched it move at a snail’s pace (😄), it occurred to me, "Maybe this snail isn’t moving slowly at all — for it, I mean." To all of us, it may seem insanely slow, but perhaps it was moving at the just right pace for itself.
I suddenly felt a variety of emotions at once:
- Relief that I didn’t actually kill this snail.
- Anger at myself for rushing and coming THAT close to stepping on it.
- Thankful that I looked down in time and didn’t actually step on it.
- Then came, sadness. I looked around and realized that because it had been rainy and dewy it was quite common for snails to be out and about. How many people were not paying attention to where they were walking, and just stepping on these snails left and right? How often are we all on our way somewhere, focused on the destination and not paying attention to where we are as we make our way there?
I remembered my blog post from a while ago — "Take a walk around the block, no seriously do it.” It's all about walking around the same block twice — once completely focused on your thoughts and the other completely present to your surroundings and senses.
And finally, I felt hopeful — imagining myself sharing the lessons of this moment with you all.
What if every time we felt like we were behind with a goal or a project or a relationship, we actually weren’t?
Maybe, just maybe, everything takes the time it takes.
And that’s not an excuse to throw in the towel and stop going for your goals.
It’s an invitation to stay deeply attuned to your pace. And instead of being hard on yourself and possibly stepping on a snail in the process, you can choose to give yourself some grace, slow down and be with yourself and the feelings in the moment, and trust that that’s the best place to be.
I’m not saying any of this is comfortable.
I am floored by how much I wanted to crawl out of my own skin as I sat and watched that snail cross the sidewalk. I wanted to walk away at least 5 times in the 10 minutes of my life that it took for that snail to get to where it was going (and I’m someone with a daily meditation practice!). It was just freaking hard to sit still and WATCH. A. SNAIL.
But what’s important is that I stayed, despite the discomfort I was feeling.
So my inquiry for you is, where are you rushing in your life right now? Maybe a project or a script that you just want to get to the other side of? Maybe a relationship that requires more patience than you feel you have? Or maybe it's something as simple as taking your kids to the park or your dog on a walk when you're not in the mood?
Now think of what it would be like if you slowed down enough to be with all the feelings that come up when we resist the urge to rush and push through the moment we are in.
What happens inside of each of us when we truly begin to trust that everything takes the time it takes. As long as we keep moving forward, what if it doesn’t matter how long it takes to get there?
I send you off with one of my favorite Jason Robert Brown songs, All Things in Time.
Here to slow down with you,
Betsy