Be content in one’s own shell.

“Try to be like a turtle, at ease in your own shell.” Bill Copeland.

I have sometimes wondered, what it meant by shell....Our home....Our mind....Or our self on the whole. What happens to us, when the shell is our mind?  What is it that makes us uneasy?  Would we be comfortable? We have to be at ease in our own shell. I am pondering over how we would do that? So I turned to the quote, what if we were a turtle, and then what?

The turtle is the animal most at ease in its own shell. Most of us are sensitive of our own strength and drawbacks, whether it is real or imagined. “Be at ease”, “take it easy,” are some of the phrases we come across on a day to day basis. Life sometimes keeps throwing curve balls at us and we have to keep picking up ourselves, to keep going through the journey of life. We learn to become at ease in our own shell. We are in a constant battle with ourselves, which means we have to believe in ourselves or we lose peace in life. If we take a few moments to look within, and discover the wonders of ourselves, we learn to be at ease in our own shell. It can be challenging because we are being ourselves and being at ease with the thought of being what we are, who we are and being content with it.

All of us sometimes go into our own shell once in a while to introspect or contemplate on what we are. Why we do it, is certainly a very difficult question to answer.  But, then there are moments we want to be in our own shell, to be in solitude with oneself.  It is a kind of feeling that is difficult to comprehend. It is a kind of desire to detach oneself from everything around you and form a kind of detached attachment to bear the cross on our own. 

The moment we open up, a whole new world opens up. It is a good to be out from a quiet withdrawn state, out into the open with determination to be what you are and stand up for what you believe in.  To be like a turtle, at ease in our own shell, means imbibing the values of a turtle’s life.  To be patient, challenging, unique, different and shining in our own way. Be indomitable and one who inspires, treading carefully carrying a baggage of life.  Realize that each shell is unique.

The fact remains that all are not the same. It is a unique and amazing quality to be content and comfortable to be what you are. The most important fact is, find the inner talents and make use of them.  Imbibe a positive attitude, realizing that we all have our own invisible shells, just like the turtle that has a real one. We have our own comfort zone within the carapace. Be content with it and respect it. It is a space that defines what we love and what we are unique at. Believe in yourself and remain what you are. Improve on the characteristics already there and attain new talents and put them in. This shell defines you and you have to be proud of it, carrying it with confidence wherever you are or wherever you go. It is a shell, your own shell, something from where you emerge.....with an innate, indwelling peace, stillness, positivity and a state of being alive. It is the unconditioned person, who you are in your essence, content to be what you are and the talents you have. It is a self acceptance and self love, knowing who you are and being comfortable with it.

Life makes such an impact that you learn to be content with what you are and what you are doing. It is the mindset that you have learned to appreciate yourself. The mindset of waiting to be content, is a never ending cycle.  Focus on the little things that bring joy and be happy with yourself, in your own shell.

"When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, you are always at ease in your own shell."