Gratitude Practice 2020 Day 130: The Remarkable Tenacity of Snails

And now a bit about snails…I’ve been a great admirer of the average garden snail for years and today I was yet again reminded that snails may in fact be best-ing all of us. There is just something so inspiring to me about these little slimy creatures. Think of it...snails are not large. Snails are not often appreciated. Snails will never be in the running to become a school mascot…live ever. By-in-large, I believe snails are most often considered by gardeners to be pests and tyrants and rarely if ever considered champions or heroes which if I am being honest is a downright shame. Snails by their very nature live in a conflicted state and yet they just keep truckin’. Should they really be on land? Or do they belong in the sea? No one really knows. Why the shell? Not really a full crustacean and yet snails can’t respectfully hang in the worm world either with their slimy guts leaking out all of the time. I mean, everyone knows that worms have standards. Snail life would be a tricky kind of existence. And why the nomadic just got to go it alone approach...you know…no burrow, no nest, no cave to hang your hat...gotta pack up all of those belongings and carry them on your back...all...the...time...just think of the weight and bulk of the just gotta have small appliances every so carefully tucked into those tiny shells? And yet...they just keep truckin’ along...slowly...persistently...consistently...with all of their earthly possessions on their backs...living as nomads...wandering from one leaf to the next branch just hoping they do not fall prey to the underside of someone's boot. Life just aint easy for snails….so much heaving..so much hoeing...and they do it in complete silence. You ever heard of a snail complaining? Yeah, me neither.

So here is the thing...snails have much to teach us...or at least me. Early this morning, Burke noticed a tiny, yet mighty, snail scaling our eight foot fence. The courage. The drive. The sheer determination to make the vertical accent all by yourself so boldly in the light of day...this is impressive. Nowhere to hide. No nature for camouflage. No numbing. No one to cheer you on...just you and the task ahead of you. Eight vertical feet. Straight up. Fast forward to this evening, as we were dining alfresco (because it’s the bestco) at our outdoor patio table, Burke looked over at the fence and saw this tiny snail and almost made it to the top. He had been climbing all day….alone… in the sun… slowly ever so slowly making it to the top of eight impressive feet. This is confidence. This is determination. This is grit. This is the snails journey...and I am inspired.

Guess what I did today? Sat in a comfortable chair and participated in about eleven-ty- hundred zoom calls and responded to sixty million and five emails. Then I got up to get a cold beverage and a snack and I was not carrying anything on my back except my simple black tee-shirt. Whew! I'm such a champion! Look at me world...look at me!

Today, gratitude AND perspective comes from the tenacious determination of a simple garden snail who CLEARLY remained motivated and pushed forward. Grateful for this visual reminder that doing big things takes time...like the whole damn day...and it may be a fool's errand but there is something to be said about staying the course. Grateful to be reminded that none of us really “fit” all the way in...and who really wants to, anyway. Grateful to know I don’t have to go it alone nor should I. Grateful to be reminded that we’ve all got hard things, we are all a bit of a mismatch combo pack of insecurities and blunders, we are all carrying a way bigger load that we can really handle...but as long as we week truckin' forward...it’s going to work out. Why? Because...snails. If snails can ascend...then we are probably going to figure it out as well. Thank you snails...thank you!