The reminder was blunt and direct.
“Why are we waiting? We should be working on ideas, getting things moving!”
As I paused, thinking of how to respond, I realized I was responding to my younger self. The questions were a replay of questions I have passionately put on the table so many times that when I replay them back to back, the questions take on the sound of an echo. In my passion, I demanded answers. When the answers did not match my naïve predetermined expectations, the intensity and passion moved to a higher level. It was a circle process with very little listening on my part to anything that did not sync up with my desires.
There were many answers I could give to the demands. We were auctioning multiple paths, shaped by experience and legal advice. Everything was moving. We were making progress and had now reached new milestones.
“We are not waiting. We are working on ideas! We are moving as fast as we can.”
All true. There was also more.
“This process is running parallel. As we push forward on the idea front, we are also protecting our interest. Attached is an analysis of how this milestone represents two achievements. First, in itself. Second, it puts us more than halfway to the next goal.”
Time has taught me that there is a larger story. If I want to be part of it, then it is going to require a different approach. It will require patience. Asking before concluding. Listening. Dialogue. Consideration and reflection. Then and only then, action.
I find myself seeing Divinity differently in this reflection. The Psalmist words replay; “Patience! You’ve got all the time in the world – whether a thousand years or a day, it’s all the same to you.” (Psalm 90.4) In the bigger story, you act.
In the midst of today’s uncertainty triggered by earlier events, to pause, consider, and then act is an act of divinity and an invitation into the larger story of our lives. Compassion towards each other trumps justice. Love consumes anger.
