Acceptance
June 30, 2009 – 8:27 am
A few weeks ago I was given a baby turtle to foster. It was tiny little creature, just barely out of its egg, found in a parking lot by a neighbor and brought home to “be saved.” Over the course of the next few weeks, I created a microcosm of safety and nurturance for the little guy. I spent hours searching the internet, consulting my turtle expert friend and educating myself on turtle care. I fretted over his eating habits, how he swam, how he breathed. I spent money buying him just the right equipment and hours regulating the conditions so that he would have the perfect environment. Last week I watched him take one deep breath and then he died, just like that. No fanfare, no drama, he just quietly stopped living.
Of course, I struggled over his death. What did I do wrong? What could I have done differently? Logically, I knew that baby turtles die all of the time, despite the best of care and conditions, yet still I felt responsible somehow. After all, he was put in my care, so I assumed that I had control over his welfare. But after careful consideration I realized that the only things I had control over were the gifts I gave him: food, shelter, safety, an opportunity to prosper, not a guarantee. Ultimately, my best intentions were no more than that; loving gifts.
So often in life, we think we’re in control and act accordingly. When things go well, we congratulate ourselves for our success and when they don’t we berate ourselves for our failure. But the older I get, the more experiences I have with gain and loss, the more I think that I am not in control of things outside myself. I’m simply doing the best I can with what I’m given and the rest is out of my hands. Believe me when I say that it is not easy to accept this fact. It takes lots of practice.
But isn’t that what life is all about? Practicing the art of love, doing the best you can and accepting the things that are out of your control?
Food for thought.
Happy Day,
3 Responses to “Acceptance”
The “Serenity Prayer”….
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
By suzanne on Jun 30, 2009
Change is Life….. Life is Change… Love is the element that accepts( and sometimes creates) the changes Life brings… Your trying to help the turtle was your way of “changing” the outcome of its Life, but it was not Nature’s way… Your acceptance of that change was what you needed to experience. We need to appreciate all the “Changes” in LIfe and see these as necessary for our own personal growth.
By Marie Gandy on Jun 30, 2009
I’m sorry about your “Yellow Belly Slider” experience. They can be raised in captivity, however what they need most is to be released into a safe, wild, fresh water enviornment. These little turtles hatch in ponds near my home each year. It is heartbreaking to see them squished in the road. If I find a live one, I also find him a safe new home… hopefully out of “Man’s way”.
There are some things we just cannot fix!
Thanks for your daily infussion of “Trishisims”!
Keep the food for thought coming!
Marty
By Marty Biernbaum on Jun 30, 2009