No matter how many articles I write, I still get a thrill of excitement and dread when I hit the “Submit” button.
More than once, I've sat at my computer, watching for my editor's avatar to pop in, just so I know when he's reading my draft.
It's hard to let go—to hit “submit” and wait.
Sometimes, I want to snatch my draft back, just to escape the pain of waiting for feedback. I've had to learn to sit with that discomfort—to plant the seed and leave it alone, no matter how badly I want to dig it up and see how it's doing.
I wish I could tell you how to get rid of that impatience. But instead, I can promise you that we'll survive it.
I learned that the distress of waiting—whether that's waiting for approval, or waiting for lessons-learned to pay off, or waiting to see the results of the effort we've been pouring in… waiting to see that we are indeed on the right track—it's just part of the process.
To ease my impatience, I remind myself that I've survived growing season before. I recall times in the past when I was patient after planting, and I try to have faith in the approaching harvest.
Dr. Sarah Glova, Co-Editor of 8&21 and Word Tiller 🌱
The patience for flourish
Of all the lessons I learn from my garden, patience is the one I must practice the most, season after season. And planting bulbs in the fall is a four-month long process of patience.
My family planted hundreds of bulbs in the sunny warmth of October, and ever since, I’ve been waiting. Deep underground, the bulbs have set up roots and started their long, slow journey through the cold soil.
Waiting for the bulbs to flower reminds me of teaching. I share content, provide the environment for growth, give feedback… then I have to step back. I wait patiently to see how the students will grow, what they will take from classes, and how they will apply lessons learned to their future careers.
You can’t rush flowers growing, and you can’t rush students learning. All you can do is provide the essentials and have the patience to let them flourish.
Dr. Sarah Egan Warren, Co-Editor of 8&21 and Grower of Tulips & Patience 🌷
Trust what you planted
Evingerlean D. Blakney, PhD, is Founder and President of Evingerlean Worldwide®. We shared this issue’s theme with her and asked if she’d consider responding with an original piece. She shared:
“One thing that the years have taught me is when you sow seeds, water them as you must, but otherwise, let them be. For if you keep worrying when growth doesn’t happen right away, what you’re saying to yourself and the universe is that you don’t truly believe in what you’ve planted. When you sowed the seeds, you had both a belief and vision of what would be. So, do your part and let time do the rest.”
