Is it time to give up?

On my walk yesterday I came across a frog. (Or maybe it was a toad?)

It was just sitting in the middle of the path.

Not moving.

It was being very still.

Even when I approached it and got closer to get a better look.

He was patiently waiting for me to leave… or maybe he was patiently waiting for his next meal.

Whatever the reason, he was a chill dude.

That kind of patience got me thinking.

Thinking about our culture and rhythm of life.

Instant gratification and that sort of thing.

We want things.. we want change immediately.

(Or as my son used to say when he was 3, addmediately ☺️)

You know, that thing we do…..if you come up against an edge… a hurdle….  A period when this thing you’ve undertaken gets overwhelming, you start to feel like you are failing or looking bad, well then it’s time to get out while you can still save face.

OR

When you get into a rut, if you have an off week… there is a tendency to feel like all is lost. A tendency to want to give up. Throw in the towel.

If the thing you intended to do feels like a failure, there is a pull to give up.

We are impatient.

The critical voice would say, “What’s the point?”

The critical voice would say, “Don’t look bad.”

But.

What if that edge has something to teach you.

What if in that discomfort there is a nugget to get you to where you long to be.

What if in “looking bad” you were able to learn exactly what you needed to learn to move you forward on your path.

My sweet friend Sonya just sent me a book that I’m loving; The Creative Act by Rick Rubin.

He writes, “Patience is required for the nuanced development of your craft.”

Patience.

Reminds me of another quote I love by Rilke from Letters to a Young Poet:

“To be an artist means not to compute or count; it means to ripen as the tree, which does not force its sap, but stands unshaken in the storms of spring with no fear that summer might not follow. It will come regardless. But it comes only to those who love as though eternity stretches before them, carefree, silent and endless. I learn it daily, learn it with many pains, for which I am grateful. Patience is all!”

Trust is another word that comes to mind. Also faith and hope.

Rick Rubin continues, “When it comes to the creative process, patience is accepting that the majority of the work we do is out of our control. We can’t force greatness to happen. All we can do is invite it in and await it actively. Not anxiously, as this might scare it off. Simply in a state of continual welcoming.”

The thing I love the most about mornings?

That continual welcoming.

It’s a fresh start. It’s a new day. It’s a clean slate. 

It doesn’t have to hold baggage.

It doesn’t have to cloud or weigh down what will be.

Don’t let what happened last week mess with your vision for this week.

Don’t let the bumps in the road throw you off track.

Be like the frog.

Be like the tree trusting its sap will come.

Welcome the sunrise.

Face your edges.

Sing your song.