"Action and inaction are both forces that shape reality. In what shape is your reality? They say a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. What bird is in your hand? Are you clutching it to death in fear of losing it or are you giving it the gentle support it needs to grow? To nurture is not to force something to be what it should, but to allow it to be what it is. Give yourself the proper attention, time, and space to grow."
—Master Key #9, The Inner Power Workbook
What is it that allows the thing you desire to come into your experience? What is it that allows you to be in harmony with that experience? In the process of manifestation there is a need to examine your beliefs and thought processes as well as how what you're doing or not doing affects your ability to attract and sustain what you want in your life. The "shape" of your ideals, choices, schedule, life, etc. should accommodate the shape of your desired experience.
Recognizing the shape of things, in this case, is a metaphor for evaluating the quality and effectiveness of your actions or inactions. Does what you're doing and how you're doing it really allow the object of your desire to pass through into your experience? Does it allow it to stay there? Or does what you want get "stuck" on the way into your life because of square-peg-round-hole syndrome?
One way to examine the potential of your efforts to draw in what you desire is to first name the five most crucial elements that define success in that endeavor. Whether you want a happy relationship or a business worth billions, what are the top five things you need to allow your dream to thrive? The second step is "simple." Support the nurturing process directly through your choices and actions.
When you successfully attract or manifest something, it can be very much like having a bird come to feed on the seeds you hold in your hand. What degree of care, attention, time or space will you give your bird? It needs to be enough to keep your bird alive, healthy and happy. A lesser amount simply won't do. It's one thing to attract, it's another thing to allow something to come in and roost. How do you attract a bird in the hand? Keep your nurturing hand open and take good care of your bird!