to those who wait

I’m generally a pretty patient person, though I do have things I get excited about. However, “good things come to those who wait” has always been a phrase that irked me.

I understand the virtues of patience, but I have to say that whoever coined that phrase must have lived under a system other than capitalism, because around here, “good things come to those who get their hustle on” is much more accurate.

That said, I’m also not a hustler. My motivations in my daily life include a work-life balance that is generous on the ‘life’ side of the scale, and honestly if I was more motivated by money, I’d have more of it. I am motivated by time, though… and I enjoy a career position that rarely; if ever, inhibits my family time or my music making time. This is how my life is structured and I’m eternally grateful for it.

The real reason “good things come to those who wait” has nothing to do with any of that though, so much as it pertains to sitting on your ass waiting for good things to happen to you, which is flawed for reasons I shouldn’t have to point out, but I will anyway:

I believe good things happen to you when you’re ready.

The life I enjoy now, I have earned. Not only through hours worked or records made or gigs played, but through personal growth…
– books not only read, but taken to heart…
– miles not only traveled, but endured…
– lessons not only learned, but shared…

To say I got what I have by sitting and waiting is a massive understatement for what I have achieved in the meantime.

I’m reminded of a conversation with a friend that I used to describe how I wanted my life to be, and it’s the life I have now. I didn’t necessarily see it the way he saw it – from the 3rd person perspective – but he did show me not only how I have it, but how I built my life up to it.

I’m eternally grateful for the people in my life who remind me of these things, and that I didn’t just wait around for it to happen to me.