Over the years, I’ve heard a lot about this place called ‘The Meantime’ – the place between that which has gone (ending of a relationship, job, project, phase of your life etc) and that which has yet to materialise – your next step ‘up’ on the ladder of life. Prior to my interest in personal evolution and all things ‘spiritual’, I didn’t imagine this place worthy of consideration. Isn’t the meantime just an empty space? So, the me of old would throw this out as a nothing place, somewhere to simply wait (and if I did not know what was next on the agenda – to fret, worry, berate myself for being here yet AGAIN and procrastinate) – it was definitely not worthy of my time and energy.
Over the years, I have come to realise that The Meantime is a very real ‘thing’ – it’s a place in and of itself. It is most definitely not an empty space in which ‘nothing’ happens. On the contrary, The Meantime can be incredibly rich, rewarding and full of potential for both personal and spiritual growth. It is fertile ground, a time for planting and if the ground is cultivated consciously, you’ll reap rich rewards.
Timely for me – a phase of my life has come to a close and the next phase has yet to make itself known. I know it’s there, I can feel the potential of it all around me… it just hasn’t arrived… yet. And here’s the thing about The Meantime – it can feel scary – a credible justification to exist in a deep sense of unease, but now I understand this place better, I embrace The Meantime.
Things take time and there’s a time for everything. No matter how much I wish for summer in winter time, it isn’t going to happen and last time I checked, water still boils at 100 degrees no matter how much of a rush I’m in… stuff happens when it happens. That’s life. If you remove a cake fro the oven before the required cooking time, It won’t rise, it may still be sticky inside, you hadn’t given it the time needed for the alchemy to happen (“the seemingly magical process of transformation, creation, or combination”). Simply, it’s time hadn’t come. So too, do we rise and step into the next stage of our life (be it relationship, job, opportunity) when the time is right.
I am not suggesting for one moment that we sit passively and do nothing, looking to the sky for the penny to drop, but I am suggesting that you give this space the respect it deserves and embrace it as the opportunity that it is. There is potential for something wonderful to materialise. Fretting will do nothing but cause you to miss the beauty of The Meantime and possibly push away that which life is wanting to give you.
Life is always guiding you. Listen carefully for its promptings – the impulses you have towards certain activities, synchronistic meetings with people able to help you on your path, a book that comes your way, a song on the radio with a message especially for YOU (we all know that one!) – there are millions of ways in which life will speak to you. But, you’ll be hard pressed to hear if you’re running a stream of negative chatter through your mind.
This is why you want to befriend The Meantime, because it’s here to help you step into the next stage of your evolution – that greater version of you doesn’t have to remain in your imagination. That version of you can become your reality if you’d just believe it possible and know that life wants those things for you too – it’s here to help.
Caveat – from our limited perspective, we cannot know what is best for us, which is why you’ll need to allow life to show you something you’ve not yet considered. Be open and curious. Despite what you believe, life it isn’t against you, life is your ally. Because we cannot see this invisible helping hand, it can be easy to believe it doesn’t exist, but consider gravity cannot see it but it’s constantly supporting you.
The golden words are faith and trust. These are not feelings, they’re commitments. Just like you visit the gym to build muscle, you have to keep working your faith and trust muscles to build them up and make them strong. The more you do it, the more faith you’ll cultivate, the more open you’ll be to possibility and the more you’ll receive. Don’t take my word for it, try it.
In closing – nature abhors a vacuum. Something will always flow in to fill a space. If you’re in The Meantime, you’re in it, like it or not – how you navigate it is entirely up to you. Will you allow circumstances to materialise based on worry, fear and limiting beliefs? Or, are you committed to trusting the process, preferring to create your next phase from a ground that’s been fertilised with unwavering trust, belief and faith in life?
So I know it’s only my humble opinion, but when faced with the two options, it’s a no brainer for me, I know which one I’d chose.
Here’s to trusting the process and as always, to your evolution!
Emma