There’s more to the story of the tortoise and the hare. Yes, the turtle finished first but that’s only cause the rabbit was scooped up and eaten by a cougar.
The rabbit wasn’t well-equipped to survive the long run. It had speed but that was about it. It turns out that the rabbit was kind of an arrogant asshole anyways. His kids didn’t know him, his wife didn’t love him, his co-workers couldn’t stand him, his friends barely tolerated him, and his brother didn’t speak to him. The rabbit didn’t have anyone at the finish line to celebrate with him, nor did anyone notice that he had become a meal for another animal along the trail.
The turtle had it all- a sweet mobile home with a killer defense system, an appetite that could be satisfied with relative ease, a consistent pace, and very few enemies. He didn’t podium much at races but he was a pleasure to have around and rarely stirred the pot.
I saw someone being hard on themselves for their lack of ability to run at high speeds for prolonged periods of time and it made me think of the tortoise and the hare. There was a time when I was pretty hard on myself too until I learned what it meant to run. It took some observation and meditation to see that the really good runners are the ones who come to the race in celebration of the life they lead outside of it, while the arrogant ones run their race and only have the results to show to the world outside.
It seems that many are so busy beating up on ourselves for what we are not that we forget about what we are and what we would like to be. Of all the things that you would like to be remembered for at your funeral, how high up the list is your mile time, bench press, FRAN, or squat? Sure, I want to be great at all things, and I would love to be a fast runner, but I’m a turtle. I’m a turtle who lacks the God given talent to be an outstanding runner and doesn’t have the necessary drive it takes to work my way out of my shell. I’m a turtle who is gonna have to settle for what I am. I’m a turtle who won’t be on the podium but will celebrate when you do.
If the rabbit didn’t have the turtle and the turtle didn’t have the hare there would be no story to tell.
Don’t be so hard on yourself.
Find your place in the story.
Peace, Love, and all things Beef related,
Beefcake