You will get there when you are meant to get there and not one moment sooner…so relax, breathe, and be patient. – Mandy Hale

In general I tend to be on the impatient side. I want things done as soon as I think of them. No time to warm up, get going, have a cup of coffee, let’s just get it done already. But even when I’m on top of it, and getting it all done, I sometimes think it’s still not enough. It’s my own brand of pushy perfectionism which has definitely mellowed as the years have gone by, but has not yet completely vanished. This can lead me to feeling harried from time to time, sometimes a lot of the time. This is completely different from hurried. You’re just in a rush when you’re hurried. When you’re harried you’re scattered, not thinking clearly, and in a rush. This is why I lose my keys. (Usually they are still hanging in the front door lock because I was too harried to remember to take them out.)

This is nothing compared to what I was like when I was younger. I was rarely in the moment, always anticipating what was to come. Looking back, I feel I missed a lot of deeper experiences and connections because I was just in such a rush to get to what was next. This stopped me from focusing completely on what I was doing in the moment. Thankfully I have a very sage mother who imparted some very wise advice. Wait your turn. I believe these words first came out of her mouth as I was complaining, i.e. cursing, at the vehicle  in front of me to speed it up so I could get through the yellow light too. I was tired of waiting. (My poor mother.) This is when she turned to me and said, “You just need to wait your turn.”

Oh…I…what?! This had never crossed my mind. But the truth is we all have to wait our turn. No matter what it is, from waiting in line, to finding the right person, to finding what inspires us. It’s all about timing, and having the patience to wait until that timing is right. Somehow those words my mother spoke had a magical effect on me. I got it. I trusted that my time and my turn would come. With this I had a way to deal with the feelings of always having to rush around and get everything done in as little time as possible. These words settled me down, and the older I get the more they apply to everything in my life. It has answered a lot of questions for me and simplified a lot of living. Maybe it’s my mom and how she thinks, or our relationship and how we interconnect and understand each other. Or maybe it’s just a basic value that has been lost in the hectic pace of life and the unachievable demands placed on all of us.

Trust me, there are moments when that blur of living takes over, but it doesn’t have to devour our lives.

Here’s to taking a long, deep breath, slowing down, and patiently waiting our turn.

kb