I came across this beautiful story in the ‘O’ magazine and wanted to share it with you. When asked about lessons learnt in life, Gloria Steinman (social and political activist) shared this real life incident. ‘On a field trip with her geology class near the Connecticut river, Gloria discovered a giant turtle that had climbed up a dirt path, right to the edge of the road. She got worried that it might get run over and wanted to do the right thing. So she wrestled and carried the huge and snapping turtle off the road. As she was putting it back into the river, her geology professor arrived and asked her what she was doing. With some pride she answered how she had ‘rescued’ the turtle. The professor said that the turtle had probably spent a month crawling up the long dirt path in order to safely lay its eggs on the side of the road, and her rescue had destroyed all that effort.’  So of course she felt very bad, but learned a life lesson – always ask the turtle.

Made me think – how often I have seen people don this authoritarian role in their day-to-day lives. Parents do this a lot with their children (since they know what’s best for their children?!). They will keep nagging the child for every little thing which I think hampers his growth to being a more independent and confident adult. Children (even little ones) should be allowed to explore and do their own thing (as long as it is safe).

Some people like to be ‘the fixers’, the ‘go to person’ which is a good thing. But then one has to be very careful of the thin line, which if we cross, we start solving problems which don’t need solving. In the process we burden our already hectic lives. What we need is to step back and ask does this really need fixing? What is going to happen if I don’t? Think about the big picture. Chances are it is not that big a thing. Better if we learn to let go. It’ll add some sanity to our lives and of those around us.

What did this story make you think of? Do share.

aparna