20. Pause

In Between


Flow

Artwork by:

Meg Vellejos-McCoy at innerlifecreations.com.

Day 363 of 2021 and Day 2219 of her Daily Painting Practice.

Pausing and enduring the discomfort of not responding, how do you know when the time to act is ripe?

I was home sick one day from work. After resting all day and taking good care of myself, I found myself browsing on the New Hampshire Bar Association website for continuing legal education classes. Out of curiosity, I checked the wanted ads. I was not looking for a new job. A posting jumped out at me, much to my surprise. I applied.

When I returned to work, I noticed all of my big cases were winding down. They were resolving after months, and even years, of work. In the week after I applied for the new job, three of the five big cases scheduled mediation. One had a final hearing and the last, opposing counsel and I were negotiating a settlement.

I received an offer from the new employer. I paused to assess whether it was the right time for me to make a change. The new job was in alignment with my deeply-held values. I accepted the offer in no small part because my big cases were all resolving. I observed the time to act was ripe, as I was able to ethically wrap up my representation of clients in an area of law that no one else at the firm practiced.

The Pause before a certain knowing is a time of discomfort to be patiently endured.