The Tortoise
Patience, the long game
Ancient, observant, grounded, quietly intelligent. He knows the one thing the Gentleman keeps forgetting: not everything that matters can be hurried.
He turns up whenever there is a demand for an answer immediately. He never lectures and he never argues. He just keeps walking — and he is always already ahead.
See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. — James 5:7
Where it honestly comes from
The tortoise is not a biblical wisdom symbol. The idea is thoroughly biblical — Proverbs 6:6, James 5:7, Psalm 1:3 — but the animal is ours.
The rule that never bends
Always ahead of the Gentleman: patience arrived first. Waist height and a peer, never a pet. Never comic, never cute.
Why this one
Not written yet. This one is mine to tell and it stays empty until I do — a borrowed reason would defeat the point of the page.
Where it appears
- The launch We’re Live! where “Being A Tortoise In A World Of Hares” is named, 6 August 2024