The Waiting Place…
…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or the waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for the wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
-Dr. Seuss, Oh the Places You’ll Go
We’ve all been there. The Waiting Place. And more often than not, I find myself there. Lately, it’s been waiting for school to start. Prior, it was waiting for summer to start.
At work, I’m waiting to hear back on an award we submitted ourselves for. In my writing, I’m waiting for feedback on my book proposal. In my health, I’m waiting to get x-rays for some chronic pain. Sometimes, it feels like all I ever do is wait.
Do you ever stand in line, and it’s a long one, and you think “Aw heck, what am I going to do to pass the time?” You know you can’t leave the line, so you’re kinda just stuck. So your core objective is to just kill time.
I do that in my day to day, too. I just want to kill time until evening when my husband gets home. Or until bedtime, when I can finally lay down. I’m waiting for the weekend, or the kids to nap. Or on weekends where my kids are a handful, I’m waiting for Monday so I can get away from the family circus!
Perhaps the Waiting Place is inescapable. I’ll always be waiting for something, whether it’s my Amazon package or my kids to graduate high school or my husband to retire, or the cookies to bake. It’s a bit of a waiting life we live, isn’t it?
So what do we do when we’re stuck in the Waiting Place? Whether we’re waiting for our hair to grow, or waiting for another chance?
Sometimes I focus on being productive. I committed to reading the Bible in its entirety a few months ago, and there’s an app on the phone that makes it easy to read wherever I am. It sure beats carrying the bible around in my purse.
Other times, I make a point to NOT be productive. Bejeweled is my escape-for-a-minute pleasure. It’s a great mind-numbing game that let’s me kill time with little guilt.
Exercise, meditation, and journaling are all great ways to play out your waiting games with no guilt or repercussions.
Because there are absolutely ways to play that can be harmful. In the past, I actually got in the habit of drinking to kill time. Time before dinner was ready, or time before the babysitter arrived. Time before bed was another favorite. This behavior was self-defeating and destructive to me. One thing I have learned about myself is that drinking is self-harm, not self-care and I’ve learned that personally, I need to find other ways to play the waiting game. This is not to say that for some people, a glass of wine can’t be a form of self-care. It just cannot for me, and I’ve learned that over a lot of time and a lot of wine. Ha!
Finally, mindfulness is a great way to experience your waiting game. And while that can include meditation, it isn’t necessarily the same thing. Mindfulness can be as simple as acknowledging and appreciating this moment and this breath. Noticing what your body is feeling. Recognizing the sensations of the weather, the smells, the sounds around you. To get in this wavelenth, Echart Tolle is the man. I’m always talking about his books because he first helped me accept “The Power of Now.” Now is literally all we ever have that is certain.
This. Very. Moment.
It’s okay to be waiting. It’s hard to even imagine a time where we won’t always be waiting for something. But it’s nice to be prepared for your wait, and to have tools in your arsenal to play a good waiting game.
Sometimes the waiting place will be grueling. Sometimes it will be long and slow and painful. We need to make the most of it, so we come out better on the other end. Productivity, self-care, and reflection can all help us play, and ultimately win, this game.
And if you have tips on how YOU play the waiting game, I’d love to hear them!
Leave a Reply