There’s something a little ironic about writing a blog post about not waiting to write a blog post. For well over a year, I told myself I wanted to get back to writing professionally. I had topics. I had ideas. What I apparently did not have was the right moment.
But the truth is, the right moment does not really exist. Not for this, and not for most things that matter. We know this. It is the same logic that keeps people from joining the gym in February instead of January, or from having the conversation they have been putting off for months. We wait for conditions that will never be perfect, and in doing so, we let meaningful work sit undone.
What I am learning is that the real work is simply to begin. Even if it is imperfect. Even if the first attempt feels awkward. Even if it is not as polished or as insightful as you imagined it would be when the moment finally felt right. Starting is its own skill. It is different from the talent required to actually do the thing. And like any skill, it only gets better with practice.
I was reminded of this recently in the hardest way possible.
Last week, I lost a friend. More than a friend, really. He was a colleague and a mentor. The kind of person who shapes how you think about your work and, more importantly, how you think about the people around you. He approached every project, every conversation, every relationship, and every challenge with full commitment. He cared deeply. He advocated fiercely. Most of all, he led with empathy.
He did not wait for the right moment. He simply showed up, fully, every time.
Grief has a way of clarifying things. Suddenly, the excuses seem smaller, and the reasons to act feel bigger. If there is any lesson I can take from losing him, it is the one he modeled so consistently in life. The present is all we truly have, so we might as well give it everything we have.
So this post, imperfect as it is and very much a beginning, is dedicated to my friend, Howard Beattie. Your time on this earth will not be forgotten.
Howard’s obituary: https://www.hccpei.ca/obituaries/Howard-Beattie?obId=47247495
