Sabrina Moyle - Escargot for It!: A Snails Guide to Finding Your Own Trail & Shell-ebrating Success

In loving memory of
Joseph Hooker Wood II, Evelyn Wood Moyle, John B. Moyle, Noah Moyle, and Virginia Pezalla.

Text copyright 2020 by Sabrina Moyle.
Illustrations copyright 2020 by Eunice Moyle.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.

ISBN: 978-1-4521-8216-2 (epub, mobi)
ISBN: 978-1-4521-8152-3 (hardcover)

Chronicle books and gifts are available at special quantity discounts to corporations, professional associations, literacy programs, and other organizations. For details and discount information, please contact our corporate/premiums department at or at 1-800-759-0190.

Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street
San Francisco, California 94107
www.chroniclebooks.com

Snails are heroes: courageous, humble, enduring, and wise. In slime and shell, they possess an exquisite balance. They are sturdy yet small, protected yet vulnerable, cautious yet ever moving forward. They hug the dirt, yet their eyes reach to the sky.

A hero is one who overcomes his or her lesser nature and, in so doing, rejuvenates the world. We each have the makings of a lowly, sluggish pest. Yet, like the mighty snail, wherever we are, we can spool a sublime spiral, an accolade to Mother Nature. We can unapologetically transcend. No ditch is too deep, no garden too grand, no deluge too daunting for the stoic snail!

This book mines the symbolism of the snail for uplifting lessons to guide us through the mountains and molehills of life. Let the wisdom of this magical mollusk be your guide. Inch by inch, day by day, moment by moment

Slime is what allows the snail to move fluidly across a varied terrain of dirt, moss, mud, and muck. Although its muscles do most of the work, its slime lubricates the way. When a snail is creeping up a wall, slime helps it stick. When a snail is relaxed, slime helps it stay put. Either way, slime is of the essence.

What enables you to move forward, even when your path is vertical? What keeps you grounded? Dedicate yourself to finding out. Find your slime.

Snails sense their trails and follow them. They dont care what frogs, salamanders, or slugs might think. They rarely travel in straight lines, and sometimes they even go in circles. To stay on your own path, be aware of yourself and your surroundings. Trust that you will find your way, and dont hold yourself responsible for the trails or trials of others.

A newborn snail hatches from its egg with a thin, clear-ish shell called a protoconch. This nucleus remains distinctly visible as the snail ages and adds whorls to its shell. As a snail grows, it grows stronger. A snail can lift ten times its own body weight!

Like snails, humans are born small but sturdy. While we are shaped by our circumstances, our essencetemperament, traits, and talentsremains with us as we age. Over time, our spirit and strength grow with us like a snails shell.

Transform yourself from humble beginnings. Start small. Ask questions. Admitting how little you know acknowledges your own potential for knowing and the magnificent vastness of the unknown.

In a time of accelerating change and distraction, it takes a snails outlook to consciously slow down and pay attention. Look for lessons in daily encounters. Be your own university. Read. Like the snail, stay focused on what is in front of you at every moment, and let no experience be wasted.

Snails eyes reach out and up on retractable stalks. A second pair of tentacles reaches down, smelling, tasting, and feeling the path ahead.

What future do you envision? How would it feel? What choices would you make? What situations would you avoid? A steady diet of self-inquiry, self-connection, and quiet visualization aligns your mind with your mission, heightening your ability to slog through mud on the long road ahead. It gives you space to use your intuition to feel your way into the futurelike a snail. At the end of each day, retreat inside yourself and impartially review the days highlights. Notice what comes up, what the days moments have to teach you. Allow these lessons to accumulate as wisdom, like the spirals of a shell. Then let them go. Start each day fresh.

Snails dont fly, nor should they. They will never sprout wings. They dont hop. They dont skip. They dont jump. They are snails, glorious snails! Look at yourself. What are your talents? What are your limitations? Of these, which are opportunities to improve? In what ways do your foibles enrich, rather than diminish, you? Digest and accept your path. Be grateful to be a snail, and then be the best darn snail you can be!