The best things in life take an entire evening to decant. Unfolding themselves as the hours pass, revealing their sumptuous notes as you earn their trust. Some take whole years, fermenting in dark places, laying in wait for the perfect chemical reaction to bring them to their peak. Others require brute force to reach. Tapping through the sturdy trunks of great trees for the promise of it’s luscious, precious sap. 

But all good things require effort and patience. Nothing worth having is borne simply out of longing. It requires application, you must put that longing to good use. And more than anything, a steady hand. Most beautiful things bloom the moment you choose to look away. Do all that you can to nurture the magic in your life, and then have a little faith. 

And finally, there’s a wisdom in knowing when you’ve got a dud. Ordinary things often sparkle, but waiting for them to become diamonds is a fool’s errand. And you are nobody’s fool. Sometimes the soil is untenable. Sometimes the well is dry. Faith alone can’t move mountains – in wisdom, we simply walk around them.

So don’t turn around just before the lightning strikes. But don’t stand in the rain in the absence of a decent rod. The complexities of life can all be summed up simply in their timing. If your hair doesn’t stand up, it’s time to move on.