The art of waiting

Hardly anyone regards waiting as an art these days. It's usually regarded as a nuisance, an inconvenience, a hardship imposed by someone who is either thoughtless, self-absorbed, arrogant, thick as a brick, cheap, or perhaps a combination of all the above.

The occasions on which we are expected to wait patiently are numerous: in the doctor's office, the check-out at the grocery store, at traffic lights, for friends who are punctuality-challenged, even on the telephone "until one of our representatives is free to talk to you". To add insult to injury, during these calls, you're often subjected to scratchy, elevator-type music.

The result? Like most people, you probably grit your teeth, tap your foot, glare at anyone in the immediate area, and think nasty thoughts of what you'd like to do to the individual or the company inflicting this hardship on you. Your blood pressure rises as you think of how late you'll be for the next event on your busy schedule. You may even feel the beginning of a tension headache.

Can the irritation of waiting be turned into an art, a skill by which that seemingly wasted time is put to good use? With a little foresight and creativity, it may just be possible.

* Pray. Tell God how angry you feel. Ask him to remove the logjam that's holding you up. Ask him for patience. After all, that's what friends are for - to help out during stressful times.

* Carry your current paperback with you. It will be better than looking at out-of-date magazines in whatever office you happen to be presently stuck.

* Start a conversation with the person nearest you. Everyone has a story, his or hers may be more interesting the those heard on "Survivor", or "Desperate Housewives".

* Carry a pen and small notebook. Make a list of groceries needed, things to do, goals for the day, the week, or the month, a Christmas card list, ideas for gifts for friends and family, places to go and things to see before you die. Reminders... anything you want to remember.

* In your imagination, travel one year into the future. How would you like your circumstances and life to be different by that time? Would you like to be thinner, have a different car, a new home, a pet, a spouse? Think of effective steps you could take to move toward this goal. Write them down.

* Notice the most attractive person in your vicinity. What particular mannerism, item of clothing or feature made you select that individual? Could you incorporate that particular quality into your personal domain, or suggest it to a family member?

* Are you a fledging poet? Start a piece on waiting, frustration, wasted time, traffic, modern inconveniences, whatever topic tickles your fancy.

* Mentally picture the person who's making you wait. Compose a short story in which s/he gets their just desserts. According to how angry you are, you can make them suffer a lot, or just a little. Make notes and write your creation up in full when you get home. Who knows? You could win a prize for the best short story! Your heartfelt emotion will be sure to shine through the prose.

Perhaps it's time to rethink our contemporary attitude about waiting. Perhaps it can be transformed into an art, and heaven knows, we have ample occasions to practice in the course of everyday life.

Folks today are often heard to complain that there just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done. If we learn to utilize waiting time constructively, we might just find that the days are long enough to get everything done, after all.