I recently saw something that had me thinking, ‘wait, let the dust settle,’ just wait.

I am sure you all have heard of this phrase. I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a very sandy or dusty area, I mean a very sandy place where you cannot even see the person a few steps from you.

Just imagine it was a massive sandy whirlwind and all you could do was go down and hold your hands against your eyes so that the sand didn’t fly in, even in that state, you felt movement around. Then, you hear people shouting other people’s names, and you listen to stumbles and falls as you’ve never heard before. The best action at that moment is to stay in one place, keep your eyes safe and wait, till the dust settled.

Until the dust settled, vision remained blurred, the movement proved difficult, and nothing seemed satisfied.

It is the same with life; we experience things we never thought we’d experience before, we face failures we never thought we’d encounter. We sometimes confront struggles in areas we were sure we were well-grounded. Usually, when this happens, you find that we want to recover fast, put ourselves back together, and get things in order before people even notice and start to ask questions.

When we do that, we’re not even aware but were operating in the dust, meaning we do not see clearly enough to make the best judgments. We’re not patient enough to evaluate the cause of the fall before we resume building again.

We must learn to take steps back to evaluate things, we can’t and shouldn’t ever be in a rush to do. When we’re rushing, we are living in a state of resistance. It produces a state of consciousness that often comes about when we’re feeling anxious. It’s a lack of willingness to be in the present moment.

I’ve often noticed that when I’m rushing, I’m not present. I’m focusing on getting things done. I’m racing against the clock. It’s a feeling of pushing against time, the present moment itself. It’s exhausting and draining. While there’s nothing wrong with rushing at times, we’re not home when we rush. We cannot be present and rush at the same time.

The bible speaks of a man sitting down and counting costs to build a house before embarking on that journey (Luke 14:28). Sometimes, all of us need is to take a step back. Allowing the dust settle gives us fresh perspectives and other strategies on how to achieve the same task.

Just a reminder not to try and dash in the dust, to wait for it to unravel, and then carry on honestly. If you fear that people will talk, just remember that people will still talk no matter what. They should not determine your outcome.

Live life for an audience of One and let the dust settle where it is.