The “Meantime”

Today, take a minute (or more) and think about “the meantime.” I was lamenting to a friend about the “now-time.” I was wondering if it was forever. She said, “It’s just the meantime.” One definition of meantime is “the time before something happens.” I like that as I’ve been feeling stuck and eager for something to happen to move me into a new phase. I totally understand the importance of “now” and living in the moment. However, when “now” isn’t what we want it to be — we often find ourselves looking back to when things were better or looking forward to the hope of change. I think the “meantime” philosophy has some value. It can offer hope. For example, “This is just the meantime while I figure things out or set the foundation for the next move.” If we begin to think what is happening “now” is forever, we may lose the motivation to keep striving. We may say, “What does it matter?” We must never forget that things always have the potential to change. We never know what might happen. And “meantime,” we can hope and believe in the power of possibility.