In life timing is everything. Even so, how often do we find ourselves mumbling over the ‘slowness’ of a process?

A number of years ago I wrote an article for Footprints Australia magazine, which touched on this topic. The story focussed on my then three year old daughter attempting to make ‘real tea’ for her daddy. Unfortunately (and unbeknownst to us!) she was attempting something for which she simply wasn’t ready.

Timing is not only moving at a sufficient pace, it’s also not arriving prematurely at a given point.

Think music: in an orchestra each note must be played at the right time by the right instrument or the music ends up sounding like an untidy, jarring mash. Just as a child risks injury when doing a task for which they are not yet equipped, so do we risk attaining a goal prematurely by pushing and pulling, striving to make things happen on our terms. Yes, we can encounter some success, but if we’re not ready for the next stage of our journey through inexperience or sheer impatience, we can miss opportunities that are still developing – even in us.

This is a lesson I’ve had to relearn many times over in my life.

As a writer, patience can be difficult. Over the years I’ve thought various written works were ready for publication, only to send them off and receive a ‘thanks but no thanks’ (if any reply at all). And as I developed my craft I’m very glad these submissions were not accepted!

For much of life, this pressing on doors, testing opportunities and putting ourselves out there is all part of the learning process. But in hindsight, I can see that apparent ‘failures’ were necessary to buy me time, enabling me to grow in myself and my writing ability – and that’s a constant process. So often a closed door isn’t an end, but a ‘not yet’ or a ‘wait’. Every experience in life is training for the future. Our time in preparation shouldn’t be wasted champing at the bit, but living out the learning curve we’re on, readying ourselves for when that door we press on does fall open.