RSS 
E-Mail8 comments
Let’s face it – nobody likes to wait. None of us. For anything. As the jingle of a popular commercial rings out, “I want it all. I want it now.” That pretty much sums it up.
I must admit that personally, waiting is not one of my greatest virtues. And the old Hebraic promise to ‘wait on the Lord,’ whether it be that he might ‘lift me up’ or that I might ‘mount up on wings as eagles’ does little to motivate me to wait either.
I’m a self-proficient-control-addict on a good day and a real arse on a bad one! So the idea of ‘waiting Wednesday’ is not something of which I speak lightly.
I grew up with a father who was/is a ‘type A’ perfectionist. “Do it right, do it quickly, do it often, do it now!” Those were the marching orders and the phrase “don’t just sit there, do something” was the rule of the day. No wasted time – too much to get done – chop, chop, chop. It’s in my DNA. Even when I dream I’m in a hurry!
However, as I’m now within a decade of mid-life (50+10= 60 and yes, I’m living to 120… for spite if for no other reason), I’m learning to embrace a new motto: “Don’t just do something, sit there.”
Those are wise words indeed. When implemented they create what NLP (neuro-linguistic-programming) would call a “break state.” This allows us time to respond rather than react. And when we do that, old habits and thinking patterns are severed so that new one’s might be connected. We’re actually teaching our brain to travel new paths in search of solutions to old and present problems.
This means that my Wednesdays are now invested with a bit more time for reflection. What am I doing? Where am I going? Am I living intentionally or just speeding down the autobahn of life, missing the entire world while texting?
I haven’t yet mastered the art of waiting to the degree that any Buddhist monks are requesting I come and give them a conference on contemplation, however, with increasing frequency I’m doing much better at ‘planning my work and working my plan.’ My energies are more focused rather than forced; my vision is broader in scope than narrowed by Father Time.
So today, don’t just do something, sit there! And if your boss asks what you’re doing…well, good luck with that one! Maybe you can just tell him “wait, I’ll get back to you tomorrow.”
8 comments to “Waiting Wednesday”
-
Congrats on launching the blog! I’m grateful to be invited into inspiring thought as well as an environment and dialogue that’s so authentic and freeing. Your words on “waiting” are encouraging and resonate with me as it also isn’t in my nature to wait or not be “doing”. I’m learning to take time to “be” rather than “do” …which I’ve discovered is actually loving and caring for myself and others and can result in deeper awareness, insight, healing, and clarity of purpose. Waiting and “being” is a divine gift.
I’ve used a variation on Byron Katie’s “4 questions and a turnaround” to actively provide for waiting and “being” when the voice of self-imposed or “others- imposed” demands distracts me from being fully focused/ present in the now: “Is it true that I must get all this done right away?” “Can I know it is absolutely true?” “How do I feel or what happens when I believe that thought?” “Who would I be and how would I feel without that thought?” Turn Around: “I don’t have to get all this done right away, as there is enough time to do everything that is truly important and valuable…..how does that feel?” If I don’t have to do it all right away but it is important; when I get to it, I’ll have much more joy in the doing! Less stress, more joy. It’s a good way to increase the love quotient for myself and others around me! Thanks for the reminder on the blessing of waiting!
-
Wait has to be the story of a SAHM’s life. lol. I do stuff around the house and then … well it’s not very challenging as work goes. And I’m not crying. I have plenty to fill the space with!
That’s the cute thing. I’m good at filling space. With a wide variety of distractions.
Is this about waiting for the filling of spaces? Is my mind waiting to be filled? Eating food is a filling of nutrition and so many other things. That kind of waiting is what I think humans know how to do because it’s linked to survival. I think that’s not insignificant and not to be slighted since everything is sacred at bottom (and at middle and top).
So what is being waited FOR is a good question for me to ask. Even in eating a burger which I’m doing right now (yes… I cooked it and now I’m gnawing on it as I type this comment). It’s funny what meaning can be had out of the seemingly least remarkable of activities.
Wait for that thought to sink in.
I like the idea of waiting as reflection. Here we all are online reading a screen… this page …and we are reflecting for a moment in the “mirror” of these thoughts. For me, that activity is sorta like the elves in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, who talk mind to mind. I love the scene in one of the movies where Galadriel pours water in a stone bowl for Frodo, which gives him the opportunity to reflect on the essentials of the journey that he’s undertaking, and from which he’s resting at the moment. As he is waiting and resting, there is much to draw on in reflection.
-
“He who waits also serves.” (I forget the source – t-shirt, fridge magnet or coffee mug.)
-
I’ve found that part of waiting is trusting the larger process, “trusting God,” rather than trying to CONTROL everything oneself. Not saying that I DO that consistently, but when I surrender for a damn minute and stop trying to fit everything into my boxes, then there’s a peace in that “waiting” space.
-
Just had to laugh (& yes, I’m FINALLY getting a break in my life so as to catch up on your *tremendous* blog…!).
I’ve long said (throughout my finally-starting-to-grow-up 40′s), “I am NOT at mid-life… I’m living ’til 120, so I’ve got many more years ’til I hit 60!”
Funny that you would have the same thought…!
(I also plan to leave when I’m good and ready and spent, with strong leg and keep eyesight, as did Moses. Why not?!?)
Shalom, Dena
There are definitely lessons for me to learn on being in balance between waiting and acting. ” What am I doing? Where am I going? Am I living intentionally or just speeding down the autobahn of life, missing the entire world while texting?”
One important and instrumental leap in being intentional is “waiting” with another person; be it your significant other, your business partner or friend, or perhaps even an on-line community such as Post Christina Blog. Working together, planning, and holding one another accountable to intentions- while continuously being an agent of compassion and inspiration can help us immensely to plan and solve problems.
One doesn’t always need to “wait” or “sit” alone!
Thanks for this opportunity to “sit” with you and all those here!