I always resonated with the tortoise
Are you the tortoise or the hare?
Do you remember the lovely Aesop’s fable about the hare and the tortoise? The hare boasts that he is the fastest and no other animal will race against him. The tortoise says he’ll give it a go. The hare sets off at great speed and the tortoise is left way behind. The hare thinks ‘well I can just take a nap and still be miles ahead.’ But the hare sleeps too deeply and too long in the warm sunshine and wakes up too late to beat the tortoise to the finish line. Tortoise just did what it was best at: plodding along at its own speed.
I always resonated more with the tortoise. I liked the idea of slow, peaceful progress. I hate feeling rushed or under pressure. Phrases like ‘the fastest way to…’ or ‘accelerate your success’ or ‘the [whatever] bootcamp’ are really off-putting to me and I tend to avoid any offering that uses those words or suggests that I’m going to be rushed, overwhelmed or pressured to be speedy. I just prefer to get there at my own speed.
So it has been fascinating to discover that this isn’t just a preference, it’s actually in my Human Design.
This week I’ve been studying my Human Design profile, which in brief layman’s terms is how we show up in the world. My profile is the 1/4, the archetype of the Expert Networker (in my teacher’s language). In my words, it is a connector of dots and people, which is how I described myself even before I knew anything about Human Design.
I know I’m naturally introspective (this is the 1 energy). I love gathering knowledge, insight and wisdom, I’m a life-long learner and student. When a subject piques my interest, I’ll disappear down a rabbit hole [or a bookshop] to study it. I like to have a solid foundation of knowledge and understanding of my subject before I then share it with the world. I need to feel confident that I know enough, and can sometimes get caught in an uncertainty spiral if I think I don’t.
With the 4 energy, others will see me as a warm and natural networker, someone who is always connecting with people, building close, meaningful relationships. It’s definitely true that I am the person who always knows a person that I can connect you to. And while I love getting out there in my community, I also need plenty of solitude to recharge.
This week I went to a huge networking meet-up to celebrate International Women’s Day, which was fabulous. I met lots of interesting women and I made many wonderful connections - and now I need to go in the shed and not talk to anyone for several days.
So I have a unique blend of introspection and sharing - which I think you can tell! I love to go learn something and then bring it to you. Substack is the perfect medium for me to share my thoughts, contemplations and discoveries.
This much I have known for years, (often learning about our Human Design is more a validation than a discovery), and then this week I learnt another aspect to our profiles, an additional ‘flavour’ if you like. It was another validation of something I ‘knew’ but hadn’t always been able to articulate - or felt confident to be as society values ‘doing’ over ‘being’. My ‘flavour’ is known as the Buddha/Innocence Motivation.
“A calming, powerful presence that influences others just by being. People may feel at peace around you without knowing why.” (Sounds like tortoise energy to me - have you ever been in the presence of a tortoise? Very peaceful.)
The Buddha or Innocence Motivation has the following themes (here I’m using the words of my teacher).
Detached from Personal Agenda – This motivation is not about personal ambition or trying to control outcomes; instead, it operates from a place of purity and presence.
Acts Without Expectation – People with Innocence Motivation naturally influence others without trying; their power comes from simply being who they are.
Deep Trust in Life’s Flow – There is a profound acceptance of what is, allowing them to respond to life rather than force it.
Effortless Authority – Their presence alone creates impact and leadership, rather than pushing or persuading others.
Core Drive: Pure presence, moving through life without an agenda.
Key Strength: Effortless leadership, wisdom, influence through being.
Mantra: “I move with life, not against it.”
Yes, yes and yes again. This absolutely resonated with me.
Our family lineage also has a coat of arms containing the words Qué Será Será (what will be, will be). I can hear Doris Day singing in my ear as I write. (And if you don’t remember the song you can listen here on YouTube)
There are challenges of course: when I am out of alignment, my Innocence Motivation can transfer into ‘Desire Motivation’, i.e. seeking results leading to frustration, over-efforting and trying to force outcomes rather than letting things unfold naturally. And I can become detached or unmotivated if not aligned. I recognise in myself this very clearly - it’s a sign I now pay much closer attention to these days.
Combining this motivation with my investigative nature means I am someone who seeks knowledge for its own sake; just because it fascinates me. I am deeply curious but not attached to using what I learn.
That is so true of me. I love collecting quotes, questions, books, just because… which is why my bookshelf is heaving with books I have yet to read and I have journals full of clippings, which I may or may not ever revisit.
With this Innocence motivation, others may be drawn to me because of my calm, unbiased perspective. I really do try to maintain a balanced perspective, seeing both sides of the coin, even when one side is abhorrent. I find myself saying this a lot at the moment: “yes, the world is shit and scary, and let’s remember that there is so much good happening as well - it just doesn’t get into the news.” And you know why I am always looking for the counter balance to the scary stuff? Because it feels more peaceful to find the good and the beauty - and I’m all for peace. Inner peace is my fuel. I am much more productive when I’m peaceful.
Another facet of the Innocence motivation is to act as a neutral observer and guide, sharing knowledge without a personal agenda. Often I am drawn to simply share because I know someone, somewhere, needs that insight. I may never know who or why. It just matters that I put that little drop of energy into the world so it finds its way to whoever needs it. I guess it depends on how we define ‘personal agenda’ too. Maybe my personal agenda is to bring more peaceful energy to those who also seek it.
There is more I could tell you, however for now I want to bring it back to tortoise. For years I have collected tortoises. I have about nine of them. Several sit on my bookshelf.
Tortoise as a totem animal symbolises presence, staying in the moment, allowing the flow of life to unfold, accepting that Nature’s rhythms take time. Moving with life, not against it, tortoise is a lesson in slow and steady; abundance and growth doesn’t have to come over night (or in the 30 days following the bootcamp!). In Aesop’s story, tortoise did not win through force or even trying to win, it just followed the flow of life.
And so that is the essence I will continue to live, regardless of how fast the world would like me to go. Peaceful progress without unnecessary pressure, moving with life not against it. It might take me longer to get where I’m going, and that is just ok. If you resonate with more tortoise than hare, I see you. If you want peaceful progress too, let’s plod along together.
If you are a hare, love the fast track and want to accelerate or go to bootcamp, that’s great too; you are probably designed that way (your Human Design will confirm whether that is true for you). Most likely, I can connect you with someone who has the just the running shoes you need; feel free to ask.
Until next time… keep on being you!
A year ago I posted this for International Women’s Day. It’s still good for another airing. If ever we needed women to awake and move mountains, it’s now.
When sleeping women wake,
Today, on International Women’s Day, I’ve been thinking a lot about this Chinese proverb and what it means to me and to women generally. I chose the image above because the range of mountains in the background looks like a woman sleeping on her back.
If you are hearing the call…
Are you hearing the call to something, but the vision isn’t yet clear and you wonder if you’ve left it too late anyway? There is still time (just) to join me and a small, intimate group of women on the journey to move mountains. We start at the Spring Equinox.
Read this post to know if you are ready or book a call for a chat.
A Special Guest for March Bones Tribe
The Bones Tribe is a monthly sacred circle to dig deeper and share thoughts, insights and experiences. Our next meeting is on Monday 17 March at 7pm GMT, and we have a special guest: Dr Vanya Leilani, author of The Flesh and the Fruit; Remembering Eve and the Power of Creative Transgression. My interview with Vanya is here if you want to listen in advance of our gathering.
The Bones Tribe is exclusive to paid subscribers. A paid subscription is just £7 a month or £49 for a year and supports my work, research and writing. In addition to the Bones Tribe Circle, paid subscribers also now get a copy of my Gathering Bones ebook. Would you like to join us in the Bones Tribe? Just hit the upgrade button.