Between the end of my street and the big office complex on the next block there is a little park with a pond. We call it Turtle Park after the turtles that live in the pond. I could sit there and watch the turtles swim around and sun bathe on the rocks for hours, as I did this Sunday morning in July, 5 days before my trip to Santa Fe…
Every trip I’ve taken to Santa Fe has been a source of inspiration for a blog post and this year’s trip was no exception. On the last day of the trip, having shopped with the reckless abandon one tends to do in Santa Fe, I was forced to face the fact that getting everything home in my carryon suitcase was not going to happen. There was a bag that I had seen in a store window that would be perfect – yay, one more thing I can “justify” buying. Off I went to find it. Racing from one store window to the next I searched and searched for what I knew was in a store that I had passed by several times. But no matter where I looked I couldn’t find it. The stores were starting to close, I was running out of time. In a last ditch effort, I went into the New Mexico History Museum shop at this point in search of any bag that would hold my treasured purchases of art, jewelry, books and coffee. And there it was, perfect sized, perfectly priced canvas bags designed by local artists. And there tucked deep in the pile was the one meant for me, with southwest turtle designs all over it. Sold!
When Turtle appears as your spirit animal, it asks you to stay true to your path. Turtle encourages you to let yourself surrender and go with the flow. It allows you to stay grounded in the chaos and reminds you to slow down and pace yourself with determination and persistence. Turtle is emotional strength, understanding and wisdom.
Turtle energy was definitely at work that day. It showed me that when I am willing to let go of searching so hard for what I think I want, I can find exactly what I need.
What are you struggling to find, to have, to attain? What if you lean into your turtle energy and stay true to your path but surrender the struggle, trust your wisdom, and go with flow? You may just find what you need.
photos by Lynne Harris Bernstein © 2019