I Can’t Wait
Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.
Henry David Thoreau, Walden
“Can you believe how cold it is? I can’t wait for spring to get here.”
“This heat is intolerable. Sure will be nice when it cools off.”
I spent much of my life wishing it were warmer, cooler, earlier, later.
I told myself things would be better in a week, a month, a year.
When the time finally arrived, it wasn’t long before I was impatient for some future time to arrive.
It was continuous cycles of dissatisfaction punctuated with brief periods of gratification.
But each moment has significance of its own.
Every season and climate has elements that can be enjoyed.
Enjoyment has more to do with mindset than with circumstances.
A fresh snowfall can be enjoyed for its beauty or resented for the work that will be required to clear it from driveways and sidewalks.
To everything there is a season.
Fall foliage with intense red, yellow, and orange leaves can be spectacular.
Sprouting buds instill hope in the spring.
The lush green leaves glow when backlit by the warm summer sun.
Even the bare branches of winter display intricate fractal patterns.
Everything in its time.
If we impatiently wait for the apples to ripen, we miss the beauty and aroma of the apple blossoms.
If we mourn the waning daylight as summer slips into autumn, those colorful leaves fall to the ground before we notice them.
Today has benefits of its own.
We only need to look for them.
Tomorrow has only promises, and not all promises are kept.
You’ve been given the gift of today.
Enjoy its benefits.
And share your delight with those you encounter today.
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