Limitless Monday: Are You A Hare Or Tortoise?

Limitless Monday – The hare or the tortoise?

Last Sunday I was exiting my local supermarket with a backpack full of groceries when I bumped into a friend who was about to start his shopping. By way of contrast, my friend was lightly dressed having just stepped out of his comfortable car. I, on the other hand, was wrapped up as if vacationing in Greenland. I was about to jump on my bicycle and cycle three miles home, with a bag of groceries balanced on one knee. As I cycled off into the icy wind it got me thinking about the hare and the tortoise.

My friend, I figured, was the tortoise. He had lived a stable life with a solid, well paid job, comfortable apartment, and, of course, a nice car. I was the hare. I had rushed ahead of the tortoise, gathered as much money and possessions as I could possibly manage, and then crashed head first into a brick wall.

My questions to myself were, firstly, did I prefer to be the hare or the tortoise? And secondly is there a middle ground? For, who wants to be the freakin’ tortoise, while the hare is too fast for his own good and generally ends up as roadkill.

Consider the fox.

Did I prefer to be the hare or the tortoise? At the outset of any journey we all want to arrive at the end point with little if any delay.

To counter this desire we are bombarded with fables and wisdom about patience being a virtue and reputation is king. We also hear advice about learning a trade, a profession, or holding down a stable job. The tortoise loves this kind of talk, the hare not so much. The hare likes oodles of risk, he bets everything on red and runs into the traffic with his eyes closed. To begin with, the hare gets lucky and believes he has the Midas touch. He continues with his risky behavior and thinks he is not being risky enough. The risks become bigger and bolder, and, of course, the inevitable has to happen, the roulette ball lands on green and the hare gets squashed by a truck.

The fox, however, has a more intelligent strategy. He seeks risk but he balances it with likely reward. He weighs up probabilities and seeks out opportunities. He thinks as a wise man would and is in search of adventure and the finer things in life balanced with staying on the side of the law, although cutting a few corners now and then. It’s a long term game for the fox. Patience is a must and therefore he must maintain his faculties including his fast mind and nimble body.

Fortunately for me, I wasn’t crushed by a truck, I was hit by a car that sent me off course and left me bruised and unconscious on the side of the highway. When I have recovered from my brush with death I shall be back on the road following the path of the fox. I suggest you follow a similar path my friends.

Happy Monday!

Banner Image: Fox. Image Credit – schreti