This quote from the Hopi Elders came to my mind as I was with a client, whom I’ll call Jane. Jane had been waiting most of her life – for the right time, the right job, the right man, the right pretty much everything. In the session, I asked her if she’d rather continue to wait for the right whatever or be happy. She responded rather indignantly, “Well how could I be happy with something that isn’t right, that isn’t the way it should be?” I said that is a great question, and the answer ought to come from her heart, not her head.
She considered the question, then replied, “I always thought the right thing would make me happy, but it never comes, nothing is ever what I expect.” We worked on expectations a bit, as well as what “right” really means to her. Then she suddenly got it: “Wait a minute!” she exclaimed, “I haven’t really been waiting for the right ‘stuff,’ I’ve been waiting for ME! I’M the one who never shows up! I keep thinking something out there will do it, and I wait and wait, in the meantime settling for crap because I think the “right thing” will come someday.”
She made a commitment to herself to start showing up for her desires and to take action on her dreams, never negotiating away what’s important to her. That’s been the focus of our work since, and she is more inspired and proactive since she realized she was the one for whom she was waiting.