Waiting

 In the last 24 hours we have driven to BART, taken BART to Mission street where BART is closed for repair work, taken a bus then to the Daly City BART station, taken BART again to SFO, flown to London, then flown to Glasgow, then took a bus downtown where we walked to our hotel.  All of it has involved a great deal of waiting. We waited at the Concord BART station for the train.  Then we exited the train at Mission, we waited for the bridge bus.  Then we waited for the next BART train.  We waited at the airport for our flight. Then we waited as we flew the 9 ½ hours to London.  We waited in the London airport for a couple hours, then once we were on the plane, we sat and waited another hour for our turn to take off.  We waited for the bus downtown, and the list goes on.

As we spent the day waiting for each thing, one or both of us could be found saying, “I just want to get to…”, an expression of that waiting, but more, a phrase that shows we are not living in the moment, but living in wait, and in anticipation, of what will come next.

I was reminded of the movie “Click.”  For those unfamiliar with it, Adam Sandler’s character was given a universal remote for his life.  He could forward through the parts that he didn’t want to experience, or that involved “waiting” to get to the things he enjoyed.  But he found that more and more of his life disappeared in the fast forward mode. While it is a story, I wonder if it isn’t also an accurate reflection of how many of us live our lives: waiting for what we look forward to, waiting for what we enjoy, and finding ways to “fast forward” (or really, tune out) those parts of our lives that aren’t exactly what we want, sometimes by playing on our electronics, sometimes by zoning.  Other times we simply experience impatience or even anger at those times of waiting. 

Surely there are other, healthier choices.  I am taking this moment of “waiting” to write, to think, to reflect.  I’ve been thinking that maybe I should keep a stack of thank you cards with me, and use those moments of waiting to write notes of appreciation to loved ones. At this moment I could be talking to David or resting my eyes. I could be meditating.  I could be praying.  But mostly, I could take this moment to look around me in gratitude at what this time and space has to offer. 

The only time we really have is now, this moment. Living in either the past or the future is failing to live at all. Since we can’t change the past, and don’t know what the future really holds, working to stay present in the now and appreciate the gifts of each moment is the only way to truly live this beautiful life we’ve been given. It is short, and fleeting.  And at least for me, this challenge of learning to just BE in the now is a lesson worth the attention it requires.