I’m slowly learning how to make peace with timing. I’m learning how to slow down. I’m learning how to take things easy. I’m learning how to live one day at a time. I’m learning how to stop rushing things that are not meant to be.

I’m slowly learning that maybe I don’t know better. Maybe I’m not meant to have it all figured out by a certain age. Maybe I’m not meant to be married by 30 or have two kids by 35. Maybe all these timelines and dates I put for myself were all off and my journey is taking a totally different timeline. I’m slowly learning how to trust the timing of my journey because every year I learn something new. Every year I change. Every year I evolve in a way I never thought I would. Every year, timing makes more sense.

I’m slowly learning that timing may not always be on my side but it’s on the right side. It’s on the side that makes sense. It’s on the side that will make my future better and easier. It’s on the side that God has chosen and sometimes that’s all you really need to know. The hope that the timing will eventually be right and the stars will align and the clocks will tick when you’re exactly where you should be with who you really need to be with.

I’m slowly learning that waiting is not so bad. Waiting doesn’t mean you’re passive. Waiting doesn’t mean you’ve failed. Waiting doesn’t mean your life is falling apart. Waiting is a part of life. Patience is something we have to continuously accept and learn. Waiting can sometimes mean you have faith in better and bigger things to come because the longer you wait, the greater the reward will be.

I’m slowly learning to be okay with late arrivals, with things not being done on time, with delays and hurdles and starting over. I’m slowly learning how to let things expire. I’m slowly learning that it’s okay to run out of time. It’s not the end of the world. There’s always tomorrow. There’s always a second chance. There’s always another day or another year. Nothing lasts forever. Your timing won’t always be against you and it won’t always be wrong.

I’m slowly learning that it’s okay to let timing win. It’s okay to let it have its way every once in a while. Why are we always trying to get ahead of ourselves? Why are we always trying to prove others wrong? Who are we really competing with? Who are we really chasing? I’m slowly learning how to pay less attention to when things will happen and focus more on how to make them happen.

I’m slowly learning how to believe in timing instead of trying to rearrange everything. I’m slowly learning to let time take its time because even the wrong time leads you to the right time, the wrong time makes you appreciate timing, the wrong time teaches you that you just can’t control time even if the odds are in your favor. I’m slowly learning that eventually, things will fall into place. All in good time.

Rania Naim is a poet and author of the new book All The Words I Should Have Said, available here.