Have you ever had your back against a rock while staring at a hard place? It’s an uncomfortable place isn’t it? It’s a place with few options. And the options you do have are unattractive.
Have you ever anxiously worked to find a new job after leaving (or being forced to leave) an old job. The waiting is painful. Days, weeks, and months can pass without results. You become stuck. Not wanting to return to where you were. Uncertain of what lies ahead. It is also an uncomfortable place.
This place is: The In-Between. You have been there. I have been there. We are always there. Stuck in the middle of yesterday and tomorrow.
Sometimes, we look at the past with fondness. Other times, we choose never to talk about painful memories. And the future promises: greener grass, pots of gold, rainbows, and tunnels with lights at the end.
I hate to tell you this. Nothing is guaranteed. (Yeah, I know the death and taxes bit. I’ll leave that topic for a different post.)
The only element of our lives that is certain is right here, right now. In-between yesterday and tomorrow. Today. And I don’t mean 30 minutes ago or in “just a minute”. I mean NOW.
This time, this space, this place of being in-between is a land of confusion for many of us. “What should I do? Should I go through the drive-thru or go inside? Should I switch lines? When is this movie going to start? Will this movie ever end?”
These questions are prompted by our impatience.
Patience, on the other hand, is waiting, with piece of mind. Being calm in a moment. Having a quiet mind. Being still in our actions while being in-between.
To live peacefully in-between, we must be patient. It is not an easy thing to be.
Jeff Goins, an author I admire and follow, is releasing a book this week entitled, The In-Between: Embracing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing. In this book he says, “Maybe the good stuff isn’t ahead of or behind us. Maybe it’s somewhere in between.”
I believe him!
Good friends can be found. Friends we’ve outgrown can be discarded. A good idea can be written down. A-HA! moments are delightful while in-between. Shooting stars can be seen in a very brief moment of in-between.
Life is full of wonder. There is beauty in the mundane.
I am waiting, patiently, for August 1st to read Jeff’s latest book. I will not hurry through the chapters. I will absorb them and I will learn. I will enjoy the time spent between climbing into bed and drifting off to sleep.
Be Kind. Be Thankful. Be Significant.
Peter
