The process of Becoming
Have you ever thought or asked yourself the question, “When will I finally make it?” or “When will I finally get to the place I’ve been dreaming of for years?”. Maybe that looks like a job promotion or meeting the love of your life. These big life questions we dream of so often. I get that. I, too, ask myself that these questions quite often. I recently came across a quote online that said, “Enjoy being in the process of becoming.”
Society tells us that we are on a timeline. You need to attend college and earn your degree immediately after high school. You need to figure out the career you want for the rest of your life at the age of 18. You should probably get married in your twenties like everyone else, because you don’t want to have children past the age of 35. You will retire at 65, and then you can enjoy all your free time. These are societal norms we have adopted into our way of thinking, intentionally or unintentionally. There’s the pressure of, if you don’t have these things in place, well, guess what, you don’t have it all figured out, you must be flaky, you’re scared of commitment, or you’re immature. If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me why I decided to go back to school at 35, well, let’s just say it would help cover the cost of those expensive textbooks I have to keep buying.
We’ve all heard the cliché’ “life is a journey”. Being an avid reader, I always like to think of my life as a book. Some chapters are building chapters, and others have these intense moments that add to the story that are so necessary. Some chapters are quiet and slow, and some are fast and full of action. The people we meet along the way and the character development that happens on each page all serve a purpose. We long for growth and change, but there is beauty in contentment. I’m sure we’ve all had a conversation with someone who expressed the desire to go back to a certain time in their life just to experience it again. I think of chapter 27 and 33 of my life in the sleepless bliss of newborn life. I remember thinking how much I longed for a solid 8 hours of sleep. All the feedings and changing diapers seemed to never end. Now as I stare at my almost three-year-old and my eight-year-old, I wish I could go back to those days even if it’s just for a moment.
Whatever chapter of life you are in, know this, it takes courage to show up and to be authentically yourself wherever life takes you and whatever point of the story you are in. “Enjoy being in the process of becoming” whether you are in chapter 35 of your life or chapter 65. The chapter that you are in won’t last forever. The page will turn. I used to long for the final chapter of different life seasons- the big reveal or the part where it all makes sense. The gold isn’t waiting at the end. It’s in the slow pages, in the stretching, and in the process. There are no wasted chapters or throwaway lines in your story.
You are in the process of becoming all that you were made to be.
Yours in the plot twist,