In The In-between

#Art #Writing #Life

I’ve been trying to think about what has been going on lately, so I could have something to write to you about.

How have you been since this piece? Since April and the start of new weather?

New weather.

We are approaching the middle of the year, and I remember the hope we all (rightly) tend to have about a New Year. And how necessary that hope is. But also, how that hope can become battered in the day to day of our lives. How disappointment, almost-s, a heavy work load, even being afraid, can distract us from the possibility in our daily lives.

Being in the middle, is just has hard as being at the beginning, or facing the end of something.

The middle is an odd place to be. Because you prance around in an unpractised restlessness, hoping that something you do sticks. Hoping that in all that you do, you are able to figure out the best way to find a path into better.

It is hard, but I am here to offer you these soft, and true words. That even though it is hard, it can be done. And you do not need to remain there, restless, afraid, in the middle. You can go up to a new level, even in how you feel.

WHAT IT'S LIKE

Being in the middle of something is very hard. Especially if what you are trying to do feels like it doesn’t want to fully materialize. In the way you would want, or in the timeline that you would want.

And it is the middle.

It isn’t that first, clear rush of hope that hits you at the beginning, or the sweet and final thrum of accomplishment when you get to the end. It’s just the middle. Mid.

I have found that whatever point you are at in a thing, in life, different things need to be considered.

For the beginning, you cannot let fear get you down. And after completing your amazing feat, you can’t allow it get to your head, or rest on your oars thinking you have done it all. There will always be another mountain to climb, eventually.

Being in the middle, what you need most is encouragement. It isn’t easy. And it is okay to admit that it isn’t easy to scale from being a beginner to becoming top-shelf stuff in whatever you do. In whoever you are.

It is a grueling process that requires showing up, every day. Even on the days when you would rather not. And showing up, even when you don’t really feel like you are making progress.

And I think it is that feeling that you aren’t making progress that makes people feel stuck. And it is alright to admit that you do feel stuck. It is probably the best way to get out of that state.

I read a fable or something years ago, about how long it takes for bamboo trees to grow.

Apparently, it takes a really, really long time for them to mature. An inexperienced farmer could see the tiny shoot coming out of the ground, the tiny shoot that barely grows for a very long time.

But if the farmer is patient enough, the bamboo eventually grows all at once to the towering height it is meant to have. And it happens so suddenly. Suddenly enough to be described as overnight perhaps.

And it reminds me of that saying that an overnight success takes twenty years at least.

So, be patient. If what you are doing is worth it, you will reap good fruit (or bamboo, if that is what you planted ha-ha)

But I think, on a certain level, we all know this.

We know that success takes time. What we do not like is looking at how others are going ahead in life, reaping their own fruit in time when it looks like we are just flailing about.

But are you really flailing about? Or waving your arms to build a strong fire that lights up into beautiful things?

You are the only one that can answer that question.

SO.... TAKE CARE

I will end this very short piece with this quote by Maya Angelou that I often come back to consider from time to time

Courage is the most important of all virtues, because without courage, you cannot practice any other virtue consistently.

And it is true. Courage is for more than just the high of starting a new thing, it is for the grunt work of the day-to-day.

Be brave. Believe there is a little bit of magic to whatever you do. And be brave enough to know that even if at this moment, it doesn’t feel like it, you will see that everything works out well. Be brave enough to believe that. And do whatever you do with a lot of love in your heart. Love makes courage a lot easier.

Perfect love casts out fear, and there is no fear in love.

I hope these words met you well, and provided you with an important amount of light. I definitely know that I needed to hear this.

Thank you for being here. Thank you for reading this.

And till the next one, take care!

In the comments, be sure to let me know what helps you overcome feeling like you are in the middle. I would love to hear it!

And... it's my birthday this week! So be sure to send your birthday wishes too.

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