Random Act of Metaphor: A Common Snapping Turtle Making the Uncommon Journey

Hmmm, did that enormous snapping turtle ever question the instinct that compelled it to make a journey it is so ill equipped to complete?

I was on strolling down a path in a semi-open wooded area, on the look for early spring warblers, when I came upon an impressive specimen of the Common Snapping Turtle. It looked to be close to two feet long from head to tail. Quite a prehistoric looking creature – scaly tail, massive shell and wrinkled, dinosaur-like head with its powerful hooked jaw.

You can imagine my surprise. What in heaven's name was this Snapper doing in the woods? Land travel was clearly not an easy task for it. I watched for several minutes as it made its way slowly and painstakingly around tree roots and through brushy tangles.

I did a little research on Snappers. They evolved over 40 million years ago and roamed the earth with dinosaurs. They can live up to 30 years and, surprisingly, do travel extensively overland to reach new habitat or lay eggs.

I'm guessing that this specimen was a female making her way to dig a nest and deposit her eggs. I couldn't help but wonder – seeing how arduous land travel was for her – whether this would be her last such journey and whether she would have the strength to find her way back to the water. But not making the journey did not seem to be an option. Instinct overruled self-preservation.

There are times in all our lives when we have to undertake a journey through unfamiliar terrain. We stumble along, two steps forward and one step back, wondering if we'll reach our still unknown destination or get hopelessly lost.

The voice of doubt urges us to turn back for the safety of familiar surroundings – and sometimes we do. But always the journey remains to be taken because we will not find home until we do. Home is as much about what we learn along the way as it is about the place of rest we eventually reach.

A Common Snapping turtle making the uncommon journey to fulfill its destiny – a random act of metaphor for the journey home we are all compelled to make.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of "Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel" – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael's website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

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