Your Time to Pop Is Coming

Project 365, Day 198/365

A few months ago, I saw this quote that I really liked. It was inspiring, so I saved it. Out of nowhere, today as I sat on the couch wondering I was going to write about for tomorrow, that same quote came to mind. I’ll explain why in a second, but first, I want to share it with you:

Remember this: popcorn is prepared all in the same pot, in the same heat, in the same oil but they don’t pop at the same time so don’t compare yourself to others. Your time to pop is coming. 

This was found on account I really enjoy following called @upworthy. Originally, I saved it because it was a good reminder that we all “pop” at our own time. Comparison is the thief of joy, as they say, and in the time we live that feels like everyone’s life is somehow better or further along than yours in whatever way you feel deficient, it’s important to remember things like this.

But then I thought…what if we weren’t all an individual corn kernel, but rather the pot itself. And the parts of us are actually the kernels, popping on their own time. All unexpected. Not at all when you want them to.

You see, as I sat on the couch earlier, toiling with the idea of what to write, I had a whole internal dialogue with myself. Charles sat next to me, completely unaware of the conversation ping-ponging in my brain folds.

“I’m in a rut. I can’t think of anything profound to share. I don’t know what to write. I want to say something helpful, important, but I’ve got nothing.” This echoed around for a bit, visions of my daily rut flashing behind my eyeballs. Work has been so busy and exhausting, it’s been so hot, I’ve been so tired and unmotivated to do much, every day is the same: wake up late, meander over to work (in my dining room), work, have lunch at the coffee table with Charles, work some more, close my laptop, go lay in bed, watch Friends, wonder what we’re going to eat for dinner, eat something, watch an hour or so of TV on the couch while I avoid writing a blog post, drag myself back over to my laptop to write a blog post, feel bad about not answering any comments for the day, go to bed. Rinse and repeat.

I’ve been stuck doing the same thing for about two weeks now, and it leaves me a bit brain dead, devoid of much to share.

Back to popcorn. Instead of beating myself up about this, because we all have to stop being our own bullies, the popcorn quote twisted and turned in my mind. Again, what if we aren’t the kernels, but the pot instead. Sometimes, it feels like you’re sitting on the heat and literally not a thing is happening. Your ears are figuratively pressed to the stove, waiting to hear that first POP, but haven’t you heard? A listened pot full of popcorn never pops…isn’t that how that saying goes? 😉

So, you as the pot, sit in waiting. And then, out of nowhere, POP! A kernel of something. Inspiration, maybe. Motivation, possibly. Profound thoughts, with hope. Then…POP…POPPOPPOP! Some more comes to life within you, in its own time. A piece of you comes to life. Because we are all so much more than a single kernel. We are giant bags of kernels, and they all have their own time to pop.

And I know this because as I sat there, with my pot seemingly doing a whole lot of nothing, a kernel went off, and I remembered something, and then my head started writing in the way it does when a kernel pops, and I walked over to my laptop and started writing. I didn’t push myself. I didn’t berate myself mentally for feeling like an inactive pot, I just chose to wait for a kernel to decide it was ready. For its time to come.

All that to say, we are complex creatures that go through many cycles. Sometimes, our kernels are just sitting in salty oil, and even though it looks or feels like nothing is happening, the pressure is building in each little part of your complex self. And when they’re good and ready, things will start to pop. Let’s just all be kind and patient with ourselves, m’kay?

See you tomorrow, FOAS.