I drafted this just a few minutes before Wednesday deteriorated so rapidly. I guess it’s kinda apt now.

Sometimes your just in the right place at the right time. 20 seconds later and I would have missed the winged visitor.

It was the case with my partner. I was in the right place at the right time. She gave me the most wonderful times. Now I carry on with our Son. Trying to burn as brightly as she did. Hopefully making a few people smile along the way. That’s my excuse for the terrible jokes.

The timing of that winged visitor got me thinking. Yes I know that’s dangerous. 20 seconds later and I would have missed it. So if I had not answered that annoying telemarketing phone call then I would probably have never seen the winged visitor. So something annoying led to something quite wonderful. We (I) often forget that. It’s easy to think that ‘Bad stuff leads to more bad stuff’. Well it doesn’t always. Sometimes the bad stuff presents new opportunities.

Looking back I very nearly never took the job that led directly to me meeting my partner. I was due to take a better paid position somewhere else. At the last minute the organisation I was due to move to changed management structure. My job offer was rescinded. Next day I applied for the job that would change my life. A bad thing leading to something beautiful.

Now I’m not going to argue that the loss of my partner led to something beautiful. It was truly awful and will remain that way. But it certainly did change me into a better person and a much more complete parent. It forced me to ditch a career and opened up more quality time with our son. I certainly live a simpler more sustainable lifestyle now. I find it much easier these days to be thankful. So yes a truly awful event did lead to positive life changes.

I guess it’s all about accepting that bad stuff happens and not assuming that bad necessarily follows bad.

94 thoughts on “Timing”

      5. 😁 So fun… so maddening. I can’t get my hands to listen to my brain. Paint brushes might be a good idea, by the way. 😁 I’d allow it.

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  5. We cannot or don’t want always to accept the timing of life but I believe that there are no coincidences. Whatever happens, has the perfect timing. Maybe we cannot understand it at that very moment or don’t even notice something essential happening. I like it a lot to go from the end. To take a wonderful outcome and see how everything was coming together and how much was interwoven to finally reach that point. In the end, you cannot really find a beginning since one thing leads to the next and if a single thing would not have been, it wouldn’t be like it is today. I like the saying: “In the end, all is well. If it is not well, it is not the end.”

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  10. Bad things happen… it sucks, but we can use the bad and learn, grow and become better from the experience. Sometimes it’s very difficult and takes quite a while to find the rainbow in the storm clouds, but if we keep looking… we’ll find it!

    Gorgeous picture and good for you, feeding the little buzzer with your beautiful flowers!😍🐝🌻
    Take good care of YOU too!💌💌🤗🥰

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  12. Beautiful and thoughtful post. I really do believe that “what you think about, you bring about” and try to keep it positive (I am not always successful but I do try). You are such a wise and wonderful person. I am glad we “met”. I hope you and your son are both having a good day.

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  14. I look at life from the other side. Chaos rules. Things happen not because they had to happen, but because anything can happen at any time. We can only control what we hope to have happen. Once it has happened it is us who have to control our responses to the new reality. Reality changes by the microsecond!

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  15. Hugs. I too almost missed meeting the father of my children due to a mistake in his personal ad. He and I weren’t a good match, but I love my kids more than anything ❤️

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  16. That flowering plant is a beauty! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on timing and the timely reminder that “[s]ometimes the bad stuff presents new opportunities.” So very true! Here’s hoping that this global pandemic will lead to new opportunities for a more just world for all living species on Earth.

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  20. We have had this talk a lot here too. It is sooooo hard to see the good when something bad happens. And it usually takes a while, but things have always worked themselves out, most of the time for the better. I can’t say every bad event turns out that way, but we are always so thankful for the wins we get when they do. I am still thinking of you guys, and wow – what a great picture!

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  21. Wow… great photos!

    My experience was being out of work and, out of desperation, accepting a temp job with lower pay and a long drive. I was still trying to get out of it before the first commute. That ended up being the first employer to see me as a person instead of a place holder, I made great friends, doubled my pay in 4 years, and started a 20yr career.

    If you ever have a day when you’re having a hard time remembering good can come from bad, find the short Dervish tale “Fatima and the Tent”, it’s avail online.

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  22. Your gift in photography is breathtaking, Gary. The timing, the angle, the message and story that comes through each photo… it’s always as if everything you’ve photographed wants to tell the world something. The sky has her secret, the humble country roads have their tale, the myriad of buds and blooms their unique wisdom – and each one wants to share this only with you.

    It’s as if they all chose you. And that’s telling.

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  24. That’s a good way to think. Sometimes I think that way in advance. You know: “Rats! I missed my train! … Well, who knows? Maybe something interesting will happen on the next train. Maybe I’ll run into an old friend or make a new friend.”

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  26. Some good introspection you’ve done there. That flower and … is it a bee of some sort, or a dragonfly? … are both so beautiful! As are your thoughts … and you’re so right, sometimes it’s just being in the right place at the right time, and sometimes what seems like a downer can bring out the sunshine. Hugs!

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  31. Probably my favorite of your posts ever. What you said is so true. You really need to be tuned into your day and life to notice timing. As you know, I’m a fan of your photography but am especially impressed with the way you take a beautiful photo and turn into a meaningful post. It never sounds trite or like you stretched the point. That’s a talent.

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