The turtle was born from loving parents in a small community in the river’s bend. There he was taught good and bad, wrong and right, black and white, hot and cold, day and night, hard and soft, happiness and sadness, love, hate, and fear. His parents allowed the turtle to swim far and explore. They supported his dreams, while making sure he felt the weight of his choices. As he grew more independent, he found himself venturing out of the river onto the bank. There he encountered his first major barrier… The road.
It was well known in the community that the road was the barrier of their world. In this place, many an animal had wandered into their death, which had caused most of the community to fear for themselves and for their loved ones. Therefore, they forbade anyone from ever going into the road for their own safety. For the most part, that was perfectly acceptable, and very healthy for the all life on the bend. The river was vibrant with food, water, community, wealth, health, and comfort so it was generally excepted that only pain and suffering was to be had beyond the border. Plus, the more hands contributing to the economy the better for everyone involved.  Therefor, he was taught that if he studied his lessons, and learned how to be a skilled turtle, he would have wealth and happiness. It made sense to the turtle, and since he absolutely loved his little community, he learned a skill and began to work toward happiness via the path of financial wealth. He found after some time, though, that the more wealth he gained, the more he seemed to spend. The more he spent, the more he needed to keep spending to maintain, replace, or upgrade what he had acquired. He discovered, one day, that the shackle of wealth was a heavy one and began to grow sad and increasingly more tired of the monotony of the pursuit of that weight. He knew that wealth, at some level, was important, but also felt that it did not necessarily need to be financial wealth.

 He needed to learn more.

He knew there were lessons that could not be learned in the river and the more he thought, the more he craved to fill an emptiness inside himself with a new way of living. He sat on the bank of the river for hours watching the road and dreaming of what the river was like on the other side. Over time, he began to meet other animals. Some, he found, had crossed the road, but had other boundaries of their own that did not affect the turtle. The turtle would talk to to the animals, share stories of about life beyond their individual boundaries, and with joy and laughter, make a new friend. He began to make friends with many of the creatures of land, sky, and water. Many had wisdom to share, others were just in need of a friendly face… he found that there was always something to offer and accept from every conversation. One day, while basking in the sun on the bank, his oldest friend, the Coyote, told the turtle that there WAS NO RIVER on the other side of the road, only Ground! This was something that the turtle could not even fathom! The turtle, in turn, then told the Coyote that there was also Ground beneath even the deepest river… The two young animals fantasized about the places they were unable to be and had many deep conversations on that bank. Through trust in each other, and the belief in the unknown as seen through the supportive eyes of a friend, the two of them became life long partners and their paths would forever be intertwined.

As time went on and the more the turtle spoke with animals about this barrier in front of him, one thing seemed to be basic knowledge;

 The turtle did not belong in the road, and the river was the best place for him to be… Obviously….

The turtle knew there was more to be learned than the river could ever provide, though. So one day, he said goodbye to the comfort of the river, to his supportive family, to his friends and coworkers, to his domicile, to his beloved community, and began the long journey across the road and to wherever the path would lead. Slow and sure, the turtle found his way up the bank, through the brush, under a fence, and onto the shoulder of the road. There were signs of other animals that had not made it, but the turtle had made up his mind that this was his path and started across. Almost immediately, an animal stopped, picked up the the turtle, and with the best intentions, placed him back on the bank saying, “Your welcome, turtle”… Because EVERYONE knew that the river side of the road was where the turtle belonged. This happened many, many times. The turtle would start across the pavement and another animal, with the best intentions, would move him back to where he started… for his own good, of course.
Finally, the Big Bear while walking by said, “Turtle! You MUST be lost! You are most certainly going to die in that road! Let me move you to the river bank for your own safety.” The turtle, frustrated, asked that he be left alone to his task, which had started to feel like a lonesome burden. Then, the Big Bear, who was wise, gentle, and kind, asked the turtle why he was walking so slowly into certain suicide. The turtle told the Big Bear what he had been thinking about… he told him he was searching for truth beyond what was generally accepted. Big Bear, who had himself spent much time on the similar search of discovery, understood and wasted no more words of caution. He simply asked the turtle if he could at least help him to cross, even though he knew the turtle would be much more comfortable in the river.

 The turtle happily thanked him and the impossible crossing was made without fear or hesitation on the back of Big Bear.

With both of them feeling elated about the crossing, Big Bear invited the turtle to his home and the two shared stories of drought and flood while they feasted and laughed and hugged. Later, the turtle used his skills to help Big Bear with projects that were difficult with his big paws, but came very naturally to the turtle, and they both came out of the experience feeling a new sense of togetherness, happiness, and fulfillment. When the turtle was ready to leave, they had already become life long friends, confidants, and partners. 
Continuing down his path into the unknown, the turtle was confident in the knowledge that forever the Big Bear and Coyote would always be a support when needed… and he felt wealthy.

As he walked, he found that there were many barriers on the path… and so it went crossing after crossing…
 A boundary was found, and the crossing was made. Sometimes alone with varying degrees of difficulty, and sometimes with the help of a friend. 
He found many different types of animals during the difficult and sometimes lonely crossing:

• There were those that were too into their own world to notice anything beyond their immediate and always changing focus… they were the animals that the turtle needed to be most aware of because their neglect would most certainly be his demise. He found that their rhythm, though inward, was at least consistent… which was usually (but not always) very predictable. “You can only trust someone to be themselves”, as the Dolphin once advised him when their paths had crossed.

• There were also those who “knew” what was best for the turtle and returned him to the start, always with the best intentions. These animals, the turtle loved for their concern, and they had most likely saved his life more than once… but their concern was also always rooted in fear. He had mused that dwelling on fear is nothing more than a prayer and would most likely bring it to fruition… so he continued unchanged down his path.

• Periodically, though, an animal would understand that the turtle was just walking his path, and supported him in this effort… And the turtle loved them… He in turn supported them in any way he could.

Early on, he came across the Cheetah, the Moose, and the Giant Tiger Shrimp, among a few others. They, through massive amounts of conversation, many crossings, and countless projects together, greatly helped him to define his path… He crossed paths, as well, with the Fox, the Owl, the Deer, the Dolphin, the Finch, the Hawk, the Brain, the Dragon, and many others… each one sharing stories of triumph and heartache, as well as time, labor, love, knowledge, and support with the turtle. He found that through these amazing beings, he met even more wonderful creatures in the jungle, because goodness seems to attract goodness. The turtle was so happy to be able to share with these animals and see places that would have been very difficult to experience by himself. Over time, there grew an amazing network of naturally gifted and supporting animals whom he loved with all of his heart. Obviously, theses special, independent, and talented animals began to support and grow the entire network in there own way… by doing what came naturally to them and greatly helping the others who possessed different natural abilities. Eventually, at a time when the focus of the world became self-centered, inward, highly mentally connected, while unbelievably physically disconnected, this network of animals, this group of supporting visionaries, this talented and capable gang of monarchs and misfits officially came together to collectively form what would forever change the the way of the jungle… They called themselves, Ground Foundation, and all they ever did was support each other and their neighbors…. and were, in turn, wealthy.

The turtle continued to walk his path and continued to come across amazing, supportive animals… Sharing his knowledge of the Ground while always striving to learn more from each new encounter. As he walked, he thought back to his first lessons in life and the boundaries that were taught in the river… and they began to blur. He realized that there was no good and bad, wrong and right, black and white, hot and cold, day and night, hard and soft, happiness and sadness, etc… These implied an end point in both directions… but those things just keep going until they reach their counterpart… in reality, those boundaries were put in place by animals who had only a box to define a circle… Those end points, boundaries, and finalities, are actually connected at their outermost extreme points. Seeing, now, all paths as a loop, the turtle began to realize that all roads, all crossings, all friends, and love found on the trail of life were never boundaries or endpoints at all, but rather bridges to the next lesson, experience, challenge, and encounter with a new friend. He smiled as he continued down his path…. eventually finding his way back to the river’s bend without ever recrossing the first road.