Day One: The Dutch Intruder and the Baby Turtles

7/17/20242 min read

gray and brown turtle on gray sand during daytime
gray and brown turtle on gray sand during daytime

Stepping out of your comfort zone can be challenging. Escaping bad habits that have been accrued over years is nearly impossible.

But once in a blue moon, all the stars align and change becomes effortless, natural, and frankly joyful.

The facilitator who helped me take the first steps into my new state of being was a person. For me, that shooting star was The Dutch Intruder Girl.

I first met The Dutch Intruder Girl when she was between apartments, and a friend asked me if she could crash at mine. I agreed, and she would intrude into my own four walls and capture the couch. We spent a couple of days together drinking wine, wondering about mysterious light sequences on my neighbor's terrace, and questioning whether aliens are already amongst us. Though we shared some good laughs, I believed that our paths would never cross again.

Well, I was wrong. I woke up to the sound of my doorbell, and when I managed to answer, I heard her voice on the other side of the intercom. Her voice seemed excited, and when she made her way up to my apartment, The Intruder carried a large, red piece of luggage with her. For a fraction of second, I wondered if she would try to crash at my place again. She wasn’t. Dutchie quickly raised a big PC monitor out of her bag, smiled, and said that she was ready to work.

The Dutch Intruder had fallen a bit behind in her work and appreciated big, square desks as opposed to the round tables in her new apartment. Knowing her from our previous encounter, I wasn’t surprised, and after we adjusted the background music to her liking, I would sit next to her doing some work of my own.

The two of us would spent the day bantering, later fetching a cool drink at a nearby cafe, and time passed much more rapidly. Eventually, when we waved goodbye, I was left with the realization that I had started the first day of my fast with ease.

My imagination led me to a picture of a freshly hatched turtle. Not one that fights off predators to reach the ocean but rather one that gets carried by strong backwinds to a brand new adventure.

The baby turtle has touched water. I am ready for this adventure.