There is this story about three turtles. I first heard this story told by Prem Rawat, who is, among other things, the master of story telling. I am re-telling it here not because I can do it as well as he, but because I like it very much and want to understand it more completely in the re-telling. I hope I can do it the justice it deserves.

***

Once there were three turtles. Papa Turtle. Mama Turtle. And, Little Turtle. One day they decided to go on a picnic. So, Mama Turtle made some sandwiches and prepared the picnic basket for their outing. When all was ready, they started out.

And they walked…

They were turtles, so you can imagine that they walked for a long time before they got very far.

Finally, they arrived at a nice spot in a meadow under a big, shady tree. Here they stopped and spread out their picnic blanket, and unpacked their picnic basket. As Mama Turtle was taking out the nice lunch she had prepared, she stopped. She looked through the picnic basket again, and then said, “Oh my. I forgot the pickles.”

“Oh my!” Said Papa Turtle with a fairly large sigh. “I was really looking forward to eating a nice pickle with my sandwich.”

“Well, what shall we do?” Said Mama Turtle. “I left them on the kitchen table.”

With that, Papa Turtle turned to Little Turtle and said, “Will you please run home and get the pickles?”

And Little Turtle said, “No.”

“What?” said Papa Turtle, very surprised. “Why won’t you go?

“Because.” Little Turtle replied. “If I go, you will eat my sandwich while I am gone!”

“Oh, No, No, No!” Exclaimed Papa Turtle. “I PROMISE I will NOT eat your sandwich while you are gone.”

“I don’t believe you.” Little Turtle was very skeptical.

“Oh, please, please, please…” begged Papa Turtle. “I PROMISE I will not eat your sandwich while you are gone. A picnic is not a picnic without pickles to eat with your sandwich. And I was really looking forward to having a pickle with mine.”

Finally, Little Turtle reluctantly agreed to go back to their house and return with the pickles. But as he left, he kept stopping and turning his head away around to make sure his sandwich was still safe in the picnic basket.

Papa Turtle and Mama Turtle settled themselves under the tree to wait for Little Turtle to come back with the pickles.

And they waited…

Now, they were turtles, and they knew that even though Little Turtle was young and spry, it would still take him a long time to go home, get the pickles, and come back, even if he ran the whole way.

Well, one day passed…

Then, the second day passed…

And, the third day also passed…

Finally, Papa Turtle was so hungry he could wait no longer, for he and Mama Turtle had long ago eaten their own sandwiches (without the pickles), and he went over and opened the picnic basket.

Just then, Little Turtle jumped out from behind a tree. “AH HA!” He cried. “I knew it. I knew you would eat my sandwich while I was gone!” He was triumphant.

***

In this way Little Turtle let his suspicion cause the very thing he was afraid of to come true. This is the way with most of us. We are all waiting for something to happen. And, as we wait, time is passing, taking with it the very gifts life has brought us in that moment. Little Turtle missed the picnic while he waited behind the tree for Papa Turtle to eat his sandwich. Better to appreciate what we have now and not be so distracted by the way we think things might be. What do you think?

october 30, 2013