The Learn Page May 2022

You know those moments when it feels like not much is going on? They feel like in-between moments, not moments in their own right. They’re the quiet moments and it can be tricky to understand whether to just sit back and wait for something to change, or to take action. There’s a word for them, and that word is abeyance. We all have highs and lows in life and tend to remember them fairly well, but the bits in between, the moments of abeyance, are harder to remember, manage, even live in. Another word for abeyance is suspension – after two years of uncertainty and restrictions, it feels like we’re finally tentatively beginning to move out of a major period of suspension.

This month, I took my first trip back to London since Oportus was set up (and my second since moving to this beautiful place). It was a good time of meeting people both on a personal and business level and seeing some of the familiar faces and places I’ve missed. Coming back, the temptation was to get busy just to make up for “lost” time.

Wild garlic head

Upon our return a couple of days ago, I saw that the first wild garlic head had formed while we were away, the montbretia is looking green and luscious (in a few weeks, there will be a blaze of brilliant orange all around us) and the wild blackberry bushes are spreading out their thorny tentacles ready for Summer. The harvest is on the way, but it’s not here yet; the fields look green and alive, but the flowers and fruit are nowhere in sight. It might seem as though nothing is happening, but within that wild garlic head, a flower is forming that will eventually split the skin open and signal that the garlic is ripe; the flame-coloured montbretia are growing silently and the abundance of blackberries – if the last two years are anything to go by – will be here at exactly the right time.

Montbretia and blackberry plants

I’m not the most patient person in the world, so holding still in the moments of abeyance can be challenging. When I don’t see movement, I have been known to literally drum my fingers on the table in impatience! The thing I recognise is that not all progress and growth is necessarily visible to the human eye – at least, not immediately, and in our buy now, pay later society of instant gratification and shortened attention spans. Just because I don’t see change doesn’t mean it’s not happening. I’m usually so absorbed in one area of my life that change happens in another while I’m looking the other way.

How about you? Are there any parts of your life – employment, business, personal, projects - that look like they are on hold? Do you recognise the feelings of impatience in yourself and if so, what can you do about that?

Please comment with your thoughts, responses or questions – I’d love to share your journey! Until next time, let’s keep learning…