“Honor the space between no longer and not yet.”
Nancy Levin
On March 27, 2023, Smithsonian Magazine published an article explaining how we were able to gaze up into the night sky and see the perfect alignment of five celestial bodies: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus. USA Today referenced this event as a ‘planetary parade’! In June of 2022, another planetary alignment happened, but even before that, the last time had been in December of 2004 according to The Indian Express. Although not that rare, spectacular events such as this do happen, and the time between one to the next, is the not yet.
Not yet. I am confident enough to say nearly all of us struggle with the not yet. We yearn for the immediate gratification rather than holding out for perhaps a more sustainable outcome. At sixteen, I was waiting tables, and I made gobs of money in tips. Although the immediate income was quite gratifying, it was unrealistic to how the economy works. Moreover, it is unrealistic as to how life works as well.
Like a seed planted in the earth, a life planted in the womb, a thought planted in the mind, or love planted in the heart, there is a not yet phase. Whatever the seed, patience and time is the magical equation. Martin Luther quoted that, “We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it, the process is not yet finished.” Grief is a seed. It is purposeful because grief changes us, and as Luther stated, we are not yet finished.
As the Easter weekend approaches, Christians have reflected upon the life of Jesus. For me, the forty days of Lent is not necessarily a dismal time, but a time of personal accountability to how I am living the not yet. One moment at a time is granted to me, yet the struggle to see the end of my endeavor can easily pull me away from just being in the moment. Each moment, however, is carrying me forward. The space between is not static; it is where most of the transformational healing is manifesting.
So what do planetary alignments and grief have in common? Time and patience will lead us towards miracles.
Live your moments between the no longer and the not yet.