The Learn Page December 2022

When it’s time, it’s time – don’t delay!

Remember the picture from last month’s Learn Page; our wonderful pumpkin, growing steadily and on track to give us a week’s worth of amazing sustenance?

At the time I took it, the pumpkin was around the size of a large grapefruit, so I delayed picking it until it was at least the size of a football (which was only a matter of time, right?)

Well, that turned out not to be such a brilliant plan, after all. As the weather turned, most things seemed to have slowed down their growth and the pumpkin’s size got stuck. What was worse, however, is that I wasn’t the only being looking forward to getting a feed out of the pumpkin...

It reminds me of the time were waiting for it to be “safe” for us to come over to Ireland in July 2020; the UK was still reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, and travel restrictions had only just been eased slightly after six months. We had no way of knowing whether things would get better or worse, and with hindsight, I would probably have preferred a few more green lights before we took the plunge and drove over; everyone on the ferry was wary, wearing face masks, trying to stay apart and getting nervous every time someone coughed.

I think we all know deep down that conditions are never going to be exactly the way we’d like when stepping out on a new part of our journey – I’m sure I’m not the only person who fluctuates between excitement at not knowing exactly what’s going to happen next, and the familiar calmness of the comfort zone. Looking back at that time, I’ve never once wondered if it was a mistake to leave everything behind and start out again here, even when there have been challenging moments.

Do you have something in your life that’s ripe for harvesting right now? What is it? What’s holding you back? If you don’t harvest, you can be sure there will be others who are only too willing to grab that moment that was meant for you…

Until next time, let’s keep learning…