My Life as a Turtle

I get emails from listeners and readers nearly every day. I do not respond to every email I receive, but I read them all ... except when they get lost in the junk folder. I appreciate the kind thoughts that come my way. I even appreciate the few unkind thoughts; they give me opportunities to exercise compassion and forgiveness toward those who see me as a threat to their worldviews.

Recently I received an email from a couple who live in Hawaii. According to them I have been their “online pastor” for years. They have been listening to my podcast since the days when I was reading aloud from my early books, The Tao of Christ and The Seeker’s Journey. They have also read most of my other books. I feel blessed.

They operate a turtle sanctuary in their yard for red-eared sliders and tortoises that need homes. They shared news about one particular turtle. They wrote: “We’ve had him for almost two years now, and we named him after you with a slight change in spelling. His name is Marshell Davis, and he is our trouble maker. He’s always getting into other turtles’ tanks and causing lots of commotion around here lol.”

Some people get buildings, bridges, or roads named after them. How boring! I get something alive named after me. And not just any living creature. A turtle! In many cultures turtles and tortoises are symbols for patience, strength, wisdom, and long life. In many mythologies (including Hawaiian), turtles and tortoises play an important role in the creation of the universe. Psychoanalyst Carl Jung proclaimed them symbols of the primordial chaos responsible for the creation of the cosmos.

I like the fact that my turtle is a troublemaker, “always getting into other turtles’ tanks and causing lots of commotion.” It makes me think of Socrates, who referred to himself as a gadfly. He said in Plato’s Apology : "I am the gadfly of the Athenian people, given to them by God.” He compares Athenian society to a horse and himself as a biting fly, who stirred that “great and noble steed into life.”

Being familiar with biting black flies and deer flies in New Hampshire, I appreciate the metaphor. I can think of no better vocation than to make people uncomfortable in order to stir them to wakefulness, even if I do get swatted on occasion.

When our daughter was growing up, she had a couple of red sliders. She named them Bob and Jerry, not after the Vermont ice cream makers (that’s Ben and Jerry) but after the music-makers Dylan and Garcia. Come to think of it, these two musicians were troublemakers in their own way! These two renegade musicians got turtles named after them, so I am in good company.

Anyway I am glad to know that my Hawaiian namesake is causing trouble, and I will try to live up to his name. By the way, the picture accompanying this post is Marshell Davis perusing some of Marshall Davis’ books, undoubtedly learning how to cause more trouble at his new home!