Waiting

and waiting

Photo thanks to iStock

“You have to wait your turn.”

“We have to wait until the light turns green.”

“Your wait time is 2 minutes” or “All our representatives are currently helping other customers. We apologize for the longer than normal wait time, which is 47 minutes.” 

Waiting for one’s ship to come in.

Waiting to get an important appointment.

Waiting for a loved one to arrive.

Waiting for a phone call.

Waiting for an email.

Waiting for a text.

Waiting for a decision.

Waiting at the checkout.

Waiting for help.

Waiting to be rescued.

Waiting to hear health news.

Waiting to hear about a job.

Waiting for a friend for coffee.

Waiting for paint to dry.

Waiting for rain.

Waiting for November 5 to be over.

Waiting some more.

Hundreds of pages could be filled with what we have all waited for during our lives, waiting on all ends of the spectrum and in myriad circumstances. And the varied feelings that “pair” with the waiting.

The concept of waiting popped into my head this morning while I was eating breakfast. I have to wait to get my breakfast until I feed Cilla because cats don’t like to wait either. (Sometimes, however, they are extremely loyal in their waiting.) I wait for my coffee to be ready, and I wait for the room to warm up on a chilly morning and I wait to read news until I take time to write and read something that nourishes me for the day. All tiny, everyday ways of waiting.

There are some aspects of waiting we learn young and can check off, such as waiting for the green light.  The word comes into our life very early, along with what we might call training. Being with 3 years olds for so many years , I have no doubt that “wait” came up in some form each day.

What we do not know then is that the word never goes away and the challenge of how to  practice it grows with us daily.

It is a quality of being that loves to keep us as a companion, even as there are times when we wish it would stay at bay.

(Photo thanks to Social.Cut)

At 75, I realize how waiting is part of so many stories of my life. A word that will always be in progress and process, a thread that is part of my tapestry.

I think of it as another metaphorical well into which I need to frequently dip to help me understand and live with it at the levels beyond the tiny everyday ones.

Sometimes it is easy. Sometimes it is frustrating. Sometimes it is brutally challenging. Sometimes it is humorous. Sometimes it holds beautiful anticipation and excitement. Sometimes we try to bypass it, only to be pulled back.

And many times, gratefully, we end up saying, “It was worth the wait.”

There is the question of how we choose to spend our time while waiting. The answer likely depends on what we are waiting for.

(Photo of a butterfly that waited next to me on the bench while I was waiting)

I have a feeling we have some waiting ahead of us, perhaps a few days or maybe weeks.

I am already thinking about how I want to spend the time so that the waiting is, to quote an old saying, “put to good use.”

Perhaps filled with wonder and creativity and nature and joyful connections, to name a few possibilities.

(And for all puzzle doers, I can imagine 1000+ piece puzzles might be your go to. I just saw bboldin puzzles, in case you have not heard of them – gorgeous options!)