I stood by the waterside for a while before I noticed the pattern of the ripples.
You have to be still enough to see these small movements in the late afternoon light, especially when there’s only a faint breeze.
It takes a while to settle into this way of being with the water.
And then you notice other things.
The birds were answering each other across the lake.
The different rhythms of the water bubbling over the ford under the bridge.
The pace of the clouds.
These aren’t the rhythms we are used to sensing.
And likewise, the new rhythms that are calling to us in our lives will take time to cultivate.
They don’t just happen.
We have to be quiet enough to hear them and then learn to move to their beat.
Be present, expectant, yet also patient because we need to practice.
It will come.