The longer you wait for something, the more you appreciate it when it arrives, because anything worth having is worth waiting for.

In other words, try not to rush things and go with the flow. For much of the last three years, my life has been like a plastic bag in the breeze; drifting here and floating there before eventually settling at the same place it began. Covid has had a lot to answer for, but not as much as my agitated mind, as I yearned for a new chapter to live happily in.

Life’s a blur when you’re in such a hurry, so it was no wonder I never knew what it looked like, never mind how to find it. But now I’m appreciating that patience is a virtue. This, and an acknowledgement that youth is happy because it has the capacity to see beauty, so maybe I’m not so old just yet?!

As I sit here today, I have learnt that the best things in life are worth waiting for.

Over the past three months (virtually to the day) I can give three cases of this off the top of my head:

  1. My best cricket innings: This came about when I allowed myself time to get myself in and see the bigger picture. I played with an acceptance that bowlers were going to beat my bat on occasions because, for want of a better reason, I’m not good enough for them not to! A little bit of patience – mingled with a drop of serenity when things weren’t going so well – actually resulted in my biggest score and highest run-rate. The fact I’ve not been able to repeat it since has more to do with me not being intuitively good at it.
  2. My physique and general health: Ok, so I’m not going to post any pictures to verify this fact, but I am definitely leaner, fitter and dare I say muscular than at any time of my life, precisely because I am looking at my fitness as a long-term project, rather than a short-term fix at the gym. A regular boot camp has helped, but not as much as five or 10 minute exercises every day, over the course of the last few months. It’s definitely paying off. Well, I think so, at least!
  3. My home: It has been a detached bungalow for a long time since moving here back in February, but little-by-little, I’ve been adding to it without ever breaking the bank. Now it’s the place I call home.

There’s probably hundreds of other examples sitting right on our doorsteps, but in the rush to get where we want to be heading, we probably take no notice. Take the city of Birmingham itself, which will reflect on the summer of 2022 as the best they’ve ever had. Everyone involved in the Commonwealth Games will treasure the memories, but few will appreciate the five years it took to get there. I saw its glory with my own eyes, from a vantage point up in the clouds. It was a moment I’ll treasure forever.

And then there’s my Dad’s golf swing, which has been good enough to win a gross competition at the age of 71, after hour upon hour down the driving range. Such results didn’t come overnight, as he’s been able to remind me when I’ve been hacking my way around the same course. It’s been a summer to remember for him, too.

Will I look back at the same season in the same way myself? I won’t know the answer for a while, as I’m giving myself a bit longer to find out.

Someone special once told me to go with the flow instead.

After all, everything will come at the right time, when it’s good and ready.