Page 138 - How We Lead Matters

Coming Out of My Shell

The beauty of the tiger-striped coiled shell is reason enough to admire the
chambered nautilus, but I’m also intrigued by the way in which it grows,
holding tight to its center—its nucleus.
When one chamber of the shell becomes too small to house the animal,
the shell elongates and widens.
The creature moves into its new home, sealing off the old chamber. It
is a process of growth that will repeat itself again and again until it is finally
released.
It seems to me that we, too, grow in ever-expanding circles. The chal-
lenge is always to hold tight to our nucleus—that spark of divinity that is in
each one of us—all the while knowing that we will fall short of perfection,
created as we are in human form.
Still I aspire, still I grow, knowing that one day my soul will slip from
all constraints and I will leave behind a life marked not by the spiraled cham-
bers of the nautilus but by my own whorled pattern of deeds done and deeds
left undone, words spoken and words unspoken, time spent wisely and time
wasted, love received and love returned.

Marilyn Carlson Nelson 121