The Scorpion and the Turtle

There is a fable that a former mentor of mine shared with me years ago about a scorpion and a turtle. He was teaching me a lesson about dealing with the media; it goes something like this:

A scorpion and a turtle stood at the edge of a river. As the turtle prepared to swim across, the scorpion asked, "Will you give me a ride to the other side?"

"Absolutely not," the turtle responded. "You are a scorpion, and you will sting me before we get to the other side."

"No I won't," the scorpion answered. "That wouldn't make any sense, because if I sting you while we cross, we'll both drown. I want to get to the other side as much as you do. So let's work together, what do you say?"

It took a while, but the scorpion finally convinced the turtle to let him ride on his back as he swam across the river. Once they arrived on the opposite shore, the scorpion raised his tail and stung the turtle.

"What did you do that for?" the turtle cried, feeling sad and betrayed. The scorpion just shrugged his shoulders and said, "What did you expect? I'm a scorpion."

I was thinking about this story today. I am this turtle (even my kids call me 'Turtle'!) ..... and if the scorpion told me the next day that he needed a ride across the river again and assured me that this time, he wouldn't sting me, I would believe him. I'd believe him again the next day, even after being stung again....and again.....and again. 

It's hard not to think that I'm a bit stupid, but I know that I'm not. I am, however, really trusting. Like, REALLY trusting. I believe what people tell me, even in the face of overwhelming evidence proving that I shouldn't. I ferociously believe in redemption. I believe in change and growth and potential and I don't ever want to lose that. I like trusting people and believing the best in them. It feels better than the alternative. 

I realized today (and felt compelled to write it down so I would remember) that this topic is like everything else in life; it's all about choice and I want to own my choices. This post is not about being a victim because I don't view myself that way, ever. I can choose to find peace with being stung repeatedly, hoping that the scorpion will one day choose otherwise, or I can walk away from the scorpion. I can still love the scorpion unconditionally. I can believe in and wish the best for the scorpion but I can also choose to not be hurt - these are not mutually exclusive concepts. Choice is the only thing that is entirely within my power.   

I like my trusting nature and I'd rather be stung than become a person who is jaded. 
2015 was hard and full of lessons. 
2016 was about examining those lessons. 
2017 is going to be about putting those lessons, and the learning from them, into practice. 

Happy New Year Peeps. 💗

Important point: the scorpion isn't 'bad' and the turtle isn't 'good'. They just are, experiencing life, moving on from their individual pasts, learning and living the best way they know how to. ("....be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.")