What are you waiting for? Seize the day.

Traveling back and forth to England during these past few years has introduced me to a culture of people who know that the sun will not always shine, and it must be enjoyed right now. This has been a powerful mirror for me to see myself. One of the things I’ve learned about myself over the years is that I wait. Sometimes this is a wise choice. Sometimes it’s not. Let’s look at the first kind of waiting first. There have been a few times in my life when I’ve made decisions because I felt a sense of urgency, external pressure. People were waiting on me. Things needed to happen. Someone else was going to get it first. Even as I signed on the dotted line, I knew. “This is not right.” But I went ahead anyway. That kind of decision has always cost me, usually financially. But there is another kind of waiting that’s more a habit than a choice. And it’s not particularly helpful. For example, I’ve observed over the years my tendency to buy beautiful fresh fruits and vegetables at the local farmers market, bring them home with joy, and then let them sit in the fridge until they have lost their luster. All too often, I’ve found  myself waiting until they are too far gone to eat. This in fact makes me very sad, because I hate for anything that has lost its life to be wasted. The first kind of (not) waiting taught me to honor my uncertainty: “I don’t know, and I don’t know and I don’t know. And then one day, I know.” The second kind of waiting has taught me how to seize the day. Both taught me about the  power of knowing what I want and taking action on it. More than any other station in the Wheel of Creativity, I hear new clients identify with the Anorexia station. Anorexia is the place in the creative process where you are paralyzed with the automatic No. Over time, self-protection becomes compulsive avoidance. And years can pass as you wait to become worthy of your dream. Wherever you are in your life today, you will never be younger, never have more energy, never have more time ahead of you to achieve your dreams. When your heart calls to you, stop, look and listen. And then get up and cross the street. Tomorrow it might be raining. What are you waiting for? What calls you to cross the street? If you’d like to read more about the Wheel of Creativity, click here to buy the book on Amazon. See you in the Wheel!