Slow and steady- Part 2

I have always loved listening to tales, myths and other stories. On Sunday evenings, my father would roast peanuts on a small charcoal burning stove, while my siblings and I gathered around and listened to him tell stories. He would tell different stories every time, some from his childhood, some ghost stories, but my favorite ones were a West African version of Aesop's fables.

"The tortoise and the hare", while not being my favorite fable/parable, is the one I usually identify to the most... In case you do not know much about it, here is a simplified version: the tortoise challenges the hare to a race, and the hare is so confident in his speed and ability to win that, he accepts and even gives the tortoise a good head start (which the tortoise declines). Depending on the region you live in, the version is different, but the tortoise always wins in the end: through either trickery, gimmick, or cheating. I like to think that the tortoise won because she knew how to pace herself to get to the finish line. She knew that we all eventually get to the same destination and kept going one step at a time... slow and steady.

Growing up, I have always been a hare, running everywhere, trying to win some invisible race no matter what the cost. I remember having to stop at a traffic light one day, and a neighbor asking me "Where are you running to? You are always running..." I took after as soon as the light turned green, but those words have been in the back of  my mind ever since. 

It has taken me a while to learn to take slowly. In fact, I don't think I really had a choice in the matter: everything in my life suddenly slowed down through a series of peculiar (yet timely) circumstances. Of course, my first (second, third and...) reaction was to try to make things happen and move at a pace that I believed  would be acceptable. It wasn't until I realized that I was in fact enjoying the ride, that things finally turned around. Steadiness and quiet determination finally took over, and my need to run slowly but surely subsided. 

I have to say, I quite enjoy this new pace. I may not reach the finish line as quickly, or as gracefully as I picture it in my head, but I will make it... in time...

Here is to the meantime!

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