Everything in Due Time

I run an online Etsy store that I started during the pandemic; it is 100% remote, meaning I have the inventory, packing materials, shipping boxes, and label printer at home to box everything up and have USPS pick it up at my front door through scheduling a pick-up on their website. It is quite easy and I love that I can do everything without stepping outside my home. After moving, I set up my label printer to get things back up and running, but I hit a stop to the operations: the label printer is WiFi connected and I couldn't connect to the WiFi because I had NO IDEA where the proprietary cable was buried in dozens of unopened boxes... So... packages that I had labels for sat... and sat... and sat... as I was at a loss, opening up box after box after box. I finally got to a point where I gave up looking. "I will find it, when I find it," I thought.

The funny thing is, my Etsy online sales came to a halt. It was like "it knew" I was in this rut. Of course, I can always go to the post office and do it the traditional way, but I have a shipping account and refuse to pay retail prices for freight - hellooooo, up to 40% savings! So, here I was, no movement on the side hustle, no progress on finding the cable, and completely given up on making any effort. And it is in those very moments of surrender, that progress can happen.

This past week, I was at dinner with a client and I had a vision of exactly where that cable was. I felt so stupid and smart at the same time; stupid that I failed to think of it earlier, but smart in that a year ago, I planned for the future and put all my business-related technology manuals, supplies, cables, etc. in a single box to easily find what I needed. And it was kismet, for a new customer had just placed the first Etsy order in my shop in almost three months! We are back in business, ladies & gentlemen!

But this story isn't about printers and crystals - it's about allowing things to happen in due time. In a society that expects to order something at 11PM on a Thursday and have it delivered by noon the next day - thanks to the miracle-workers at Amazon - we, myself included, have come to expect that things happen instantly and on our timelines. In reality, everything must align in order to make things happen; and the bigger the vision, the more moving parts have to fit perfectly like a key in a lock to open the next door.

Everything is always in motion - no matter how big or small. We are always making progress, even if it doesn't feel like it. Things appreciate or depreciate over time. Money flows from one set of hands to another. An act of kindness sends a ripple effect through hundreds. But, sometimes, the natural flow of things can experience some speedbumps, as referenced by my other article. People can get comfortable, become resistant to change, shirk responsibility, procrastinate, ignore, etc. and that does impact doors opening and closing. And if we fail to realize it, those doors may feel like they're flinging open and sucking you in, or slamming in your face.

When we want to get something done, we may put in all the effort we can muster into achieving the outcome and get extremely upset when we don't get it, on our timeline, the way we wanted it, with our expectations front and center. It is easy to forget that everything is a system of hundreds-thousands of interconnected smaller systems, made of millions of individual elements that often we forget or are simply ignorant to. The bigger, more complex the system, the more elements have to be harmonized in order to progress. And every system is part of a larger system - a family is part of a community, which is part of a society; or a company is part of a economy, which is part of a global economy - so the shifting of a reality can quickly become non-linear, as micro and macro influences are always in play. Butterfly effect? Sure.

Who knows what specifically in that client dinner triggered the memory that my cables were all in one big box and the big box was easier to find than the individual cable I spent weeks looking for; but there was something in that conversation that allowed my mind to make that connection. And I was not planning on going to that very client dinner until a colleague of mine had an emergency to tend to and was under pressure to get packed and leave as quickly as possible. So would I have found that cable first thing the next morning had I not gone to dinner? Who knows... When we start pulling on the strings of what events influenced another, it is amazing how these situations unfold. Which leads me to entertain the idea that everything is in due time, as all the elements have to line up for that perfect moment for progress to take place.

How often did I put markers on my life to be married by this date, or have kids by that date, or have a certain promotion within such a time, or travel to this place on this specific year, all which led to personal disappointment, feeling like a failure. It is taking a lot of effort to have compassion for the fact that some of the elements may just not be aligned yet and it is not all my burden to shoulder to make something happen. Maybe I haven't met "the one" yet, and maybe the position that I will excel at and joyously thrive in doesn't exist yet, and maybe the place I want to go to will have a deal on a travel package or something that will make it more accessible. There are so many additional possibilities that I forget to consider when my mind is set on a certain thing. Accepting and allowing it to happen in its due time is challenging, indeed. And we also must do our best to avoid inaction or shying away from a chance, an opportunity, a leap of faith, because it may just be what is needed to bring you closer to where you want to be.

Maybe no matter what door we choose, we get to where we are supposed to be. One path may be easier than another. This is where we can become very aware of the people we bring into our lives, the situations we agree to engage in, the way we treat those around us, the natural flow and resistance we feel from our efforts. It's not to say that one shouldn't work hard and put forth an effort. But there is difference between trying to force something and putting in diligent effort. Forcing it is trying something over and over - ignoring all the push-back - and ending up nowhere fast. Lessons will be learned, for sure, but it just won't happen the way you want it to. Putting forth the effort creates progress with the possibility of multiple outcomes. Effort is non-attachment to the outcome, while trying is attachment.

So next time you feel like you have been spinning your wheels in the mud, give it a break. Step back from the situation, change your perspective and mindset, follow the happenings that flow much easier than what you have been striving for - getting out of this rut. When you least expect it, someone will drive by to tow you out. Or a magical unicorn will come and teleport you to safety! Anything is possible.