1.  the state or condition of stagnating,  or having stopped, as by ceasing to run or flow: Meteorologists forecast ozone and air stagnation.

2.  a foulness or staleness, as one emanating from a standing pool of water.

3.  a failure to develop, progress, or advance: periods of economic stagnation followed by bursts of growth.

4.  the state or quality of being or feeling sluggish and dull: Happily, they have been able to avoid stagnation in their ten-year marriage.

This is something that I fear greatly.  I fear those moments when I feel I am losing forward momentum.  Sometimes I’m not really stagnating, but I am failing to live up to my expectations of myself.  It can be hard to decide what is reasonable growth and development.

What I now want to do with this type of downtime is to appreciate it.  This time gives us space to think, make new or refresh important contacts, to brainstorm and set a path of action.  It also gives us a moment to appreciate where we are, where we have come from, what we have learned from our past and what we are going to do in the very near future.