Vexalt

Once again, it’s been a while, and even longer this time. I’m… honestly surprised it’s been so long. But this seems to be a pattern in my life, so that hardly bears mentioning. Yet we are back here again, putting another article out on the blog. Despite life shifting, despite having let it sit till now. Even though my first post was a year and a half ago, and I’ve only made 5 posts in that time; I still have 4 and a half months till years end and 7 months till my blog anniversary. Which is still enough time to make this my best year yet, one a month would over double my blog size by the anniversary!. And that’s what counts.

Marginal improvement.

It’s how most things in nature grow, slowly and steadily. All plants move, yet in all but exceptional cases the motion is so slow that it’s nearly impossible to catch their movements by actively watching. And some of the oldest and most impressive plants, like great old trees, grow the slowest. Many slow growing plants take time before they bloom and bear fruit; even then the first few flushes often fare fitfully. Perhaps it’s the same for some people; I know it seems to be that way for me! I could get down on myself for a near 9 month gap, but what good would that serve?

If I keep progressing, keep seeking the things I need to fuel and structure my growth, I’ll look back one day and be shocked at how much I have built. Today, I inch forward one more step in posting this; even if a single step, a single post, doesn’t feel like much. But it’s one more than there was 9 months ago; and without this, it will never grow further. And beyond that, a lack of visible growth doesn’t mean stagnation; I know it has not been for me. It can be a time of gathering resources before a burst of motion, and it can also be a time of dormancy to make it through harsh conditions. I’ve had both lately.

My previous posts have touched on the learning I have been doing lately, one kind of resource for certain. What we know and can understand are some of our most significant resources, one that carry through our entire lives. Never underestimate the importance of taking the time you need to understand enough to take effective action. I have been learning about my skills, my talents and inclinations, the natural structure of my nature. Without this, nothing I was doing was from a truly effective place. Like wondering why a shrub doesn’t grow into a tree, rather than learning to shape and train it into the lovely hedge it is properly suited to be. I have spent months learning, in so many subjects, and this will provide ample material for future posts!

On the other side of things, life’s demands have driven other efforts dormant until more optimal timing. I was a part of one of the last Joann stores in Colorado; and the wind down was intense enough to consume much of the available energy. (This might be worth exploring in a separate post as well) And that shifted right into a move… to a completely new state! I feel like I’ve circled right back around to the beginning of all this; building new patterns during a fresh start in a new city and making blog posts about it… But isn’t what a rosebush does every spring a variant on the same note? And I as well have grown since last time, how far will I reach this year?

I don’t believe these patterns are unique to me, otherwise I wouldn’t bother to put them out into the internet. I believe that these are common to the human experience; just another part of nature’s rhythms. I’ve been picking up tricks, and starting to share them here; slow progress, self-kindness… And I hope to continue to do so, because maybe something I write will be what someone needs to hear. That it’s ok to slow down, learn and build resources. To hold off on progress pushes during a harsh time. And if we all take just one small step towards our callings, one day our paths will take us where we are supposed to be. And who knows what each of us will find around the bend.

So, hopeful that I will return shortly with another post, I leave you with a quote I encountered recently. It speaks to slow, steady growth using what we have when we are able.

“Life is hard by the yard, Son. But you don’t have to do it by the yard. By the inch it’s a cinch. And money can’t buy everything. For example: poverty.”

From: A Walk on the Wild Side by Nelson Algren