“When things are not coming together the way you want them too don’t lose hope. Trust the process, your time will come.” — Germany Kent

I took a walk Friday morning. The rain was gently falling, wringing all the remaining moisture from the clouds that had given bucket-fulls the day before; I was in Portland, Oregon, and I had not two dogs on a leash, but three, and we, all four of us and fourteen legs and feet/paws, were jovially tottering along with smiles and curiosity aplenty.

As I walked in this neighborhood I knew like the back of my hand as it was 26 years ago that I stayed with this same family friend for a summer and walked their beagle Molly, every day, making this loop, sometime twice a day, I was taken back to the person I was 26 years ago, and the thoughts dancing about in my mind, the curiosities, the wonders, and the appreciation to be able to go for a walk and let the process of wandering settle my mind as I delighted in the connection I had with a sweet petite beagle girl who I will always fondly remember.

Now on this day, 26 years later, as I was walking Norman and Nelle on their splitter leash and my friends’ young pug, all three were in their element grateful for the company and especially the stretch of the legs, and I was grateful for this moment both of nostalgia and of awareness of what is possible that we cannot even fathom as we set out on a new journey.

“Patience does not mean to passively endure. It means to be farsighted enough to trust the end result of a process.” – Elif Shafak

At that time many years ago, I had just graduated from high school and was looking ahead to my first year of college to begin in the fall. I was ready and beginning college excited me. A change, but a change of and into what I did not know. I didn’t really have any preconceptions as I had nothing to compare my first step into this new chapter being the oldest child, but I was grateful it was about to begin.

If we have ever found ourselves at the crossroads of life at any stage wondering, “Will it all work out?” when we ponder such a question, we may not even know what the It is that we are referring to. We may just hope we reach a state of feeling that we have found our way, a way that feels at home but a feeling of home that is uniquely tailored to us, and everything within us that at this moment of wondering we don’t fully understand or maybe don’t even know resides within us.

The pondering of such a question often doesn’t happen just once in our lifetimes, because if we are forever curious and choose to grow and learn and wonder (or wander as the case may be), we come up against this question a few times, perhaps many, some in small and others in large instances throughout our lifetime, but the exciting and reassuring discovery I have found, and felt in those thirty minutes while taking three dogs I cared for dearly on a walk, was that if you keep holding yourself in the present moment, engaging fully and being sincere about who you show up as whatever the occasion my be, things work out in beautiful ways.

In my instance, it doesn’t surprise me in the least bit that I am walking and delighting in the company of dogs and have chosen to have furry four-legged children in my life instead of two-legged children. To me, to my 44-year-old self, it makes complete sense, and I think somewhere in the recesses of my subconscious mind to my 18-year-old self it would have made ideal sense as well, but I had to feel my way and trust my intuition along that journey to figuring that out. Similarly, as it pertains to how I spend my days, the work I am fortunate to do on a regular basis, what brings me delight and enjoyment, trusting my journey, listening to my intuition when I inadvertently deviated momentarily off track now seems obvious, but 26 years ago, I had yet to go out and explore, experience the big wide world, travel, meet new and different people and see how I responded and feel what I felt in such moments. What tickled my curiosity, piqued my inquiring mind or brought discomfort or didn’t sit well, which also prompted me to ask why such a feeling arose and dig deeper to understand such feelings’ origins – were they mine innately or taught to me, and should I reëxamine how such experiences actually affect me now knowing how to separate nurtured and innate responses?

The journey takes time, and with each experience we learn. Not one experience arrives empty-handed. We receive something of value to apply to our life journey each time we step forward and try something new or different. Sometimes it is brought to our awareness a skill we have yet to learn or hone more precisely, and the wise journeyperson will heed the advice as such newly gained wisdom will lead us forward well rather than if we dismiss the opportunity to grow cause us to circle back and repeat the lesson again hoping we will notice what and why such an experience has been repeated.

A beautiful aha moment happened during my recent experience. The trip resembled similar trips I have made to Portland in the past – full of planned stops and appointments, so full and doing what I could to make the most of my time in the city to tend to tasks for projects and time with people I enjoy sharing time with – but in this instance, more resoundingly than before, I went about each task and engaged more fully present and appreciative, which then made each such moment all the more enjoyable.

There may be many reasons that others would suggest as to why this was, but I know one reason had to do with my trusting with more inner confidence than I have had before that my journey has lead me right where I feel most content; and feeling content, even though there are still many moving parts that have not settled, brings the ease to participate fully right where I am and with whom I find myself – whether a friend or a customer service worker helping me find what I am looking for – extending kindness more freely as I am not carrying stress from outside causes dancing about in my mind should it be there, and I bring my full attention, grateful for whatever is going well. How I show up changes the entire situation in a powerfully constructive and positive way. I don’t necessarily know what ‘way’ that will be, but I am now taking responsibility more consciously for what I bring to the moment which is part of the equation for what will unfold.

So, to answer the question, “Will it all work out?” It already is beginning to work out, and so long as you consider all that is shared above, how it will work out and when will be worth the patience you practice. Similar to the rising of the narcissus in early spring, it rises from its hibernation despite the lingering winter, so long as it was planted and is placed in such a spot to be able to rise.

Wishing you a wonderful start to a brand new week.

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