To be active is to be energetic, engaged, and lively.

To wait is to stay put, linger, and to mark time.

Put them together and you have what is known as active waiting.

It feels like an oxymoron, but it’s not.

As I write this, winter isn’t over but spring is on the way. Snow is still on the ground while underneath things are preparing to grow. Branches are budding but haven’t yet bloomed. Mama elk patiently carry their calves while waiting to give birth once the vegetation they depend on for food is more plentiful.

Nature seems to understand the importance of actively waiting.

Human beings, not so much.

We are doers, not waiters, and trying to do both at the same time feels like a crazy maker. Like trying to rub your tummy and pat your head. We can do one or the other, but not both. We can either do something or wait, but not both.

But what if Nature knows what she’s talking about? What if she knows that wisdom lies in preparing for what is ahead by staying present to what is here now. By staying put while continuing to look down the road. Allowing things to unfold rather than forcing them before their time. Letting more puzzle pieces make themselves known while arranging the ones we have.

Active waiting might look like writing a little something everyday while allowing that creative idea to percolate. Packing up one room at a time here so so as to be ready to move there. Designing a new garden while snow is still on the ground. Applying for a job while still fully engaged in the one we have. Reflecting on what is on our side of the fence before talking about what is on theirs. Focusing on what is right in front of us while not losing sight of where we are headed. Being fully in the present while anticipating the future. Staying with what is so as to be better equipped for what is to come.

Active waiting isn’t an oxymoron.

It just feels like one.