Let’s talk about the right timing
I hope it’s clear I’m not going to write about when to take your spaghetti out of boiling water.
Let’s talk about the right timing related to life.
I’ve recently started playing with an idea of getting a tattoo. When I mentioned this briefly to a friend of mine, he just commented:
Him: “Why in your 30s? Why didn’t you get it earlier? I don’t think I would do it now, anymore.”
Me, answering: “Well, now I finally have money, time and most importantly a good reason to do it.”
I didn’t understand why to get a tattoo in your 30s should be a bad idea.
Does age really matter?
This was only one of many examples. Not sure you if you noticed it, but from some point of this century onwards, the travel, lifestyle or work culture is trying to push through an idea of doing certain things at a certain age. For instance, let’s look at travelling. Has anyone thought about why we should visit some countries in our 20s, or 30s and why not earlier or later? I quite honestly don’t get it. Or maybe I’m thinking about this too much? It just doesn’t make sense to me why I couldn’t enjoy travelling or doing certain things when I feel like, regardless of what age I am.
It’s true in some cases we are limited by certain conditions. If you decide to have a baby at your 40s, it’s possible, but it not might the best timing from the biological perspective. Don’t you worry, I haven’t forgotten about our amazing technological advances and what they enable us to do in this field.
But what about those other things, when we don’t depend on our biological clock. I was looking for a different example and then though [a little bit of black humour follows], well, to dance at the funeral wouldn’t probably be the best time to do so. Then I also remember, I saw that happen, so invalid argument.
Maybe I’m too sensitive or perceive this trend in a very wrong way, but I can’t read articles that are telling us what should we do and when should we do it anymore.
Isn’t that just unnecessary pressure we could live without?
When is the right time to do anything? Besides a few exceptions, I don’t believe that something as ‘right timing’ exists.
The only right time we have is now. ‘Now’ is the time when you decide to do something, to say, to travel, to experience.
One of my favourite examples that captures the essence of the right timing depending entirely on us is probably the one I read in Mitch Albon’s book Tuesdays with Morrie. I’m sure everyone has been in the situation like this before.
When you feel a surge of love for a partner but you don’t say anything because you’re frozen with the fear of what those words might do to your relationship.
Is it too early to say I love you? Shall I wait? What if you don’t say it back? When is the right moment to do so?
From personal experience I’ve learnt, the right time is when you feel like it. There is no sooner or later.
“The right time is any time that one is still so lucky as to have. “ Henry James
I often think that the outcome of whatever we experienced influences our impression of the ‘right timing’ itself.
If the experience is negative, it was terrible timing. On the other side, if we succeed, we have a feeling like we couldn’t time it better. All worked out perfectly.
We all live our lives at a different pace, and we all have individual journeys.
Therefore, we should do things when we feel like it. When there is a right time to do something for you, it doesn’t mean it has to be the right time for me. Isn’t that true? The only right timing there is is the timing of your life.
