Yesterday, I had a conversation with a trusted friend about something that has been quietly stirring in me for months: the desire to launch workshops again and bring my business plans to life, after time away. We talked about timing, the universe listening, and the way stars seem to align when we’re finally ready to step forward.
Stepping off the train, 30 minutes later, a bus strike forced me to change my routine. I decided to walk home, taking a route I rarely use. That small disruption led me to a moment of unexpected clarity.
Along the fence of a nearby street, a burst of colour caught my eye – a row of old bicycle wheels painted in vivid hues and attached to the wire. At first, they looked like abandoned cogs, motionless and forgotten. But as I stood there, the afternoon wind swept through, making the fencing bend ever so slightly. The wheels trembled, a subtle dance only visible if you paused long enough to see.
While I stood there, German lyrics (to practice my German language skills) playing through my headphones, I couldn’t help but smile. Art Garfunkel Jr’s “Seit Ewigkeiten (To Everything There Is a Season)” was playing — a song about life’s rhythms, about recognising that there is a time to rest, a time to prepare, and a time to act. The synchronicity made me smile.
That quiet scene spoke to something deeper. For months, my creative work has felt like those wheels: resting. Not broken or discarded, just waiting for the right breath of wind. Workshops, resources, and ideas have been gathering in the background, slowly forming, but not yet ready to spin into view.
We don’t always give enough value to the in-between seasons — the liminal space between endings and beginnings. In a culture that celebrates constant productivity, stillness can be misread as stagnation. Yet much like a field lying fallow, or seeds buried under winter soil, there is growth happening that we cannot see.
Standing there, I remembered that rest isn’t the opposite of progress. It is often the essential prelude to it. The pause gives room for clarity, for courage, for creative energy to collect itself so that when the season shifts, we’re ready to move.
As I continued walking, the breeze strengthened, and for a moment in my mind, those wheels spun freely, catching the light. It felt like a promise: that momentum is coming, that the pieces are aligning, that what has been quietly gathering strength will soon turn.
So if you find yourself in a season of stillness, perhaps this is your reminder: things may be moving beneath the surface even if you can’t yet see them. Trust the timing. Honour the pause. The right wind will arrive.
And if I ever needed another sign that stars are starting to align …. this morning, I woke up to see a message waiting for me. A message from someone overseas, warming my heart for something I am hopeful for 🙏
Sometimes the smallest signs remind us our plans are alive, even when they’re not yet in full spin. 🌈🚲✨
Jenn Barfield - Holistic Career Development Coaching 