Sea turtles lay eggs, about nine meters from the water, in the sand. When the eggs hatch, days later, numerous little turtles set off for the sea, without waiver. Seagulls prey on them like dive bombers, but they keep going. When they make it into the water, the fish start going at them.—life is tough, but the timeless pattern ensures existence despite difficulty—is common practice where vulnerable baby turtles were found making their way to the open sea to 'rescue' them from their fatal journey and to nurse them till they grow up a little bit. However, baby turtles in captivity loose important skills such as hunting, which they could only master in their natural habitat. Furthermore turtles brought up in artificial environment find it harder to identify friends from foe. [Better ways to help the turtles, is to discourage poaching of turtle eggs or hunting adult turtles.]
Human life stories, similar to the journey of sea turtles, generally have a pattern—but with many variations, as illustrated in exhibit 3.1 (Atkinson, 1995: 31).
Life stories generally have a mirror-story, as illustrated in exhibit 3.2 (Atkinson, 1995: 37).
Mindfulness, or really being/living in the moment can, according to Atkinson (1995: 39), be transformative—when consciously aware when something eternal breaks through into mundane existence can transport temporal life into mythic realm, where archetypal experiences can be found. Such moments can have an everlasting and profound impact.
Atkinson, R. 1995. The gift of stories — practical and spiritual applications of autobiography, life stories and personal mythmaking. Westport, Conn.: Bergin & Garvey.
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