The Right Time?

How do we know when it is the right time to dig deeper and work harder, or when to ease up and stop striving?  For a while now, I have thought that I should start my day with an early morning hike through our forested land.  That word “should” might have been my first clue about how things would unfold. I imagined that I would walk the same route over and over again each day in order to achieve many good things: to tramp down a new trail, to reconnect to parts of the forest that I have not seen since April when we boiled sap from the maples, to get some exercise because frankly it’s good for me, and to be inspired by the land for brief blog posts like this one.  So, a few days ago, I set out with a bug hat, but without long pants, without insect repellent, and thought, “how bad can it be?”   You know what comes next.  It was bad. First, I startled a small creature on the path (didn’t get a good visual).  Then a red squirrel started to chatter in alarm. Small song birds picked up the alarm from the squirrel and fled.  And the mosquitoes began to suck blood from my unprotected calves.  Not the right time.  I quickly retreated to the field.

Good idea, maybe, but not that morning.  I simply didn’t feel welcome.  Oh, the mosquitoes were happy about my arrival but not much else.  I think that when we need to make a decision about timing, there will always be lots of signs to help us along the way.   For me it was not time to start a new discipline.  It was not the right time to strive harder. It was not the right time to listen to the “should do this” messages in my brain.   Instead,it was the right time to ease up a bit and rest.  The forest will beckon me into her depths again one day soon.  Because she always does.

If you are getting messages that it is not the right time to dig deeper, work harder and carry on bravely in your world, but rather, all signs point to “ease up, strive less and rest,” I hope that you consider participating in one of the many inspiring and restful offerings that Rise Above Guest House hosts coming up in August, September, October and beyond.  Special Note: the dragon flies have been out in force and the mosquitoes are diminishing.  August, September and early October are THE. BEST. MONTHS. to plan to spend time here.

Listen and watch for the signs to let you know if this is the Right Time for you.

written by Marilyn Zehr, August 2nd, 2024