Every once in a while I have a lesson to learn and – ready or not – it catches me off guard.
While this is not the sharpest picture I’ve ever taken, I think you’ll appreciate it.
Being young, Sparrow doesn’t sit still very often. Open a door and she’s out to explore the unknown in a flash. Everything in her condominium universe is an adventure to explore. For her life is a never-ending opportunity to go-go-go.
It’s not uncommon for her to climb into my lap on onto my desk insisting that I stop that infernal tap- tap- tapping of my laptop keys so she can claim her rightful place as my sole focus of attention. But she also knows that if I’m “in the flow”, I am not likely to be distracted. In cases like that, when I don’t respond quickly enough to suit her, she’s off looking for other diversions.
Well, Sparrow had poked her nose in my face several times without being able to get my attention. I continued to work a short while before taking a break. Then I saw her. Sparrow was patiently sitting on top of her scratching pole (this was the first time I’d ever seen her do there). She volunteered not a sound and moved not a muscle. Can you see what she was telling me?
Yes, she’s figured out that good things come to those who wait.
It’s a powerful lesson for me. We get so impatient when things don’t go the way we want. We see it in politics and in our home life and at work. We want what we want when we want it – right this instant. Too often we don’t give others or ourselves the time we need to finish what we start before we expect the rewards that come to a job well done. We fail to remember that sometimes we have to have periods of rain or a bleak winter or even drought before we can enjoy glorious flowers. We forget that sometimes it takes time for things to happen and that it’s foolish to try to rush the process of life when a little patience will often bring wonderful surprises.
So now I have a delightful reminder. When I start beating my head against the proverbial wall until it’s bloody trying to make things go my way right this minute, I look at Sparrow and remember: Perhaps the better approach is to sit quietly and wait because the best things in life take time to materialize.