Waiting Without Worry: A Reflection on Patience, Destiny, and Trust
What if the most powerful thing you could do right now is stop rushing—and trust that life already knows your address?
Waiting
John Burroughs
Serene, I fold my hands and wait,
Nor care for wind, nor tide, nor sea;
I rave no more ‘gainst time or fate,
For lo! my own shall come to me.
I stay my haste, I make delays,
For what avails this eager pace?
I stand amid the eternal ways,
And what is mine shall know my face.
Asleep, awake, by night or day,
The friends I seek are seeking me;
No wind can drive my bark astray,
Nor change the tide of destiny.
What matter if I stand alone?
I wait with joy the coming years;
My heart shall reap where it hath sown,
And garner up its fruit of tears.
The waters know their own and draw
The brook that springs in yonder height;
So flows the good with equal law
Unto the soul of pure delight.
The stars come nightly to the sky;
The tidal wave unto the sea;
Nor time, nor space, nor deep, nor high,
Can keep my own away from me.
Reflection
John Burroughs’ Waiting is a quiet rebellion against hurry. In a world trained to chase outcomes, this poem invites us to trust timing rather than wrestle with it. Burroughs reminds us that what truly belongs to us cannot miss us. Effort matters, but so does surrender—the deep confidence that life’s currents know our name. Waiting here is not passivity; it is alignment. It is the courage to stop forcing doors and believe that the right ones open on their own. Peace arrives when striving softens into faith, and impatience learns to rest.
As you read this poem, ask yourself:
Where in my life might trust serve me better than urgency, and what would change if I truly believed what is meant for me will arrive?