Monday, April 8, 2013

The Upside of Waiting it Out



It was when I was the editor of the Maricopa Monitor in Arizona that I first recognized there was an upside to waiting for something to gel. 

Several times there was pressure from outside to print a story that felt “not ready” and my gut told me to hang on for a week or two.  On each occasion, given the extra time, a significant piece of the puzzle would be presented and suddenly the article would stick together in a way it hadn’t previously. 

After the month of writing 50,000 words, known as NaNoWriMo, I had more than the required words to be “successful”, but it didn’t feel right. It’s not that I expected the tale to spring forth whole and in perfect form. There was something intrinsically wrong with it. I’ve been sitting on it ever since. About two weeks ago, it came to me what needed to be done and I’ve gotten started on the revisions. It will be a much better book for the waiting. 

Yesterday, I had a transformative experience. For quite a while I have been unable to move forward on a number of things, including the promotion of my newly formed small business. I felt a serious blockage on it and on other aspects of the life I’m trying to build for myself. 

I was washing dishes last evening and as I scrubbed three major chunks of my life fell into place. I could almost hear them…clink, clink, clink. It was as much physical as mental. 

Does anyone remember Tetris, the Gameboy game of dropping puzzle pieces that needed to be fitted together to continue and it had to happen under a deadline? The sensation I had was similar in that I felt a bit of peace come over me when these slabs of existence presented themselves then nuzzled together in harmony. 

I now know where I’m going for the foreseeable future and it is good. I’ve found my path and I’d like to say it was through patient waiting. But it wasn’t. I’m the most impatient person in the world. Yet, somehow, I survived through it and I’m on the other side of that suspension of time. 

That, my friends, is the upside of waiting it out.  Congruence.

6 comments:

  1. Thank you for this inspirational post. I too am not the most patient person, especially when it comes to my writing. I have been feeling somewhat unsettled lately and after reading this post, I feel it in my spirit that all will fall into place. Glad it did for you.

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    1. Sorry it took so long for me to answer Michelle. I've been training all week for a new job that falls right into my plan! Yay. It is so hard to wait it out sometimes, but I swear it comes when it's supposed to. Good luck, my comrade in words!

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  2. Kathy,

    I am glad that your life is falling into place for u. I hope you have a wonderful time with it.

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  3. Mel - I didn't see this until just now. I've been hibernating for a while. Hugs.

    K

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  4. You're not the only hibernator, lol. I find myself late for everything, as of late. The best books are ones that sit and you, the author, continue on, but keep it in the back of your mind. Magic happens

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    1. Wow - nothing like taking 7 months to respond! This post is even more fitting now than it was back in April last! Sometimes we don't know that wonderful things that are ahead, can't even guess. Isn't that wonderful?

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