Turtles get a lot of press, for better and for worse.

(The above turtle is a Gopher Tortoise. All tortoises are turtles. Not all turtles are tortoises. I learn something new every day.)

But when it comes to turtles, we talk about their slowness.

We talk about their perseverance.

Occasionally we attribute to them ninja skills.

Not enough is said about their ability to mind their business.

These guys were everywhere on Amelia Island.

And the most notable thing about that is they bothered nobody.

And all the rules concerning them involved not bothering them.

Don’t touch the turtles.

Don’t chase the turtles.

Don’t trespass on turtle homes.

And I’m good with that. None of my vacation plans involved harassing turtles.

But I think we fail the turtle standard constantly.

We rage at our neighbor for moving too slow and being in our way.

We resent them for having territory we have to go around instead of just walking through.

We would rather trespass than bypass. What’s the big deal?

We even say if they don’t like what I’m doing in public, they can just go in their shells.

And yet, we don’t own the public space. We share it.

And the fact that you’ve got a shell doesn’t give me the right to force you in it.

Imagine if we lived in comunity by this standard.

Imagine if we made our primary concern to do no harm, to stay out of each other’s way, and only to intervene when there was an apparent need?

Like, my door is always open.

I will check on you.

I’ll run interference if you get caught up with a raccoon.

But my first level of love for you, and honor for your personhood is to respect your space.

Imagine if we loved by being good neighbors?

I can think of plenty of times I have failed this standard in the past.

And I’ll probably mess up in the future.

Today, I’m just grateful for the example of the turtle.

May we all share the road.

(Photo Credit: Hannah Boardman)