Dearest Reader,

It has not gone unnoticed that many people are terribly fond of results.

They admire blooms, praise harvests, and grow animated at the sight of visible success. What receives far less attention is the long, unremarkable stretch in which nothing appears to be happening at all.

This is unfortunate, as most worthwhile things spend a considerable amount of time looking unimpressive.

People have become suspicious of slow progress. If growth cannot be photographed, measured, or announced within a reasonable interval, they begin to doubt it entirely. They prod at beginnings, compare them to finished outcomes, and grow discouraged when the early stages fail to resemble the end.