Waiting for Something

Waiting. We all are waiting for something. We might be waiting to get to the front of the line, waiting for our car to be serviced, waiting for the light to change, or waiting for the day to begin. We often meet these interludes with impatience or annoyance.

What if instead, we shifted our perception of waiting? Instead of it being an inconvenience, what if we considered it a gift?

Recently, I found myself waiting as my car was being fixed. Since the repair shop was far from my home, I was pretty much stuck there until they finished. As I sat waiting, I realized that this break from my day was in fact a wonderful gift. Instead of being irritated and anxious that the car was taking longer to fix than I’d planned, I opted to view the time in a more positive light.

I became excited when I recognized the options this waiting time presented. I could use it as think time, quiet time, reading time, breathing time. I could pause and not do or I could engage in conversation with a stranger that I might not otherwise stop to talk with. The waiting enabled me to regroup and slow down. This gift of pause was staring me in the face, encouraging me to unwrap it.

The next time you find yourself waiting, remind yourself how lucky you are for those moments of in between. Enjoy them for what they are and use them for what you need- be it thinking, reading, conversing or doing nothing at all.