“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

One advantage to having over half a century under one’s belt is to be able to see the past in a continuum: decade after decade, the people we were, the things that mattered, patterns, rhythms, stages of development, times of growth as well as times of seeming stagnancy.

I call those periods—which I can see so clearly, now, through my rear view mirror—times of “waiting,” times when I felt stuck “in limbo.”

Often—most times, actually—“waiting” periods were accompanied by a developing internal sense of frustration. I wasn’t being productive. I was wasting time. But nothing was happening.

Patience has never been one of my strong points.

“The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.” ~Leo Tolstoy

From my vantage point now, however, with a few more decades of data at my disposal, I can see that  these excruciating times of apparent waiting were followed by times of immense drive and energy expenditure.

From my vantage point now, I can see that those “limbo” times were in fact a season of rest in which to ready myself.

And I could have surrendered to the season, gratefully, instead of fighting it with frustration.

Kind of like the tree outside my window as I write this, barren in the winter, waiting for spring. Resting.

Even fields lie fallow for a season every so often. It nourishes their soil.

Nature knows.

And so, finally, do I.

“Patience is the companion of wisdom.” ~Saint Augustine