Every now and then, I note a strange sensation- a sense that I am waiting for something. I’ve started to notice it and pay attention to it. And despite my insistence on living in the present, it is there, every so often, against my will.
Could it be the age of social media and viral posts that makes it so? I feel this thing, this little nag- it’s something like, “There must be more. When it it coming?” I have no idea what more there would be, but when IT happens, it’s going to change everything, right? Right??
But I am busy. And aren’t we all, it seems? Busier than ever. Busy with this or busy with that or busy making dinner or taking kids or figuring finances or writing or playing music or simply corralling the band (that’s like herding cats, but another story entirely).
It’s the busiest wait in history.
Do you ever feel a busy-wait? I know that we are all working and striving to be better, and for ‘more,’ but there’s a waiting sense to it that is bothersome to me. As Dr. Seuss wrote in Oh! The Places You’ll Go:
“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.
NO!
That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape
all that waiting and staying
You’ll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.
We know it’s not for us. There’s no point. It is imperative to live, and live now. But we can still experience this. As I wrote earlier, I suspect that social media is partially responsible. There’s a part of us that can think we are next in line for our 15 minutes, because surely, it happens to everyone. Or it certainly appears as if it does.
But how many people do I know who have had something go “viral”? Aside from that being a literal virus, a grand total of zero real-live viral posts/vids leap to mind. It’s foolish for me to wait for something.
In addition, occasionally (okay, quite often!) the very thing I might be waiting on might have already happened, and I haven’t even taken notice. When I was first solo in music, I wanted radio airplay. Oh, how I waited and longed for it! Simultaneously, I had been (very) randomly offered a job at a radio station here in Austin, and I had begun doing middays on-air as a DJ. Other on-air personalities there actually even played my songs a few times as I released a new album. Suddenly I looked around and I realized, I’m on the radio. I was waiting, but it was already there, right in front of my eyes (or ears)! The moral of the story? If we are really looking for what we are waiting on, we might find it- just not in the way we expected.
So, when our path gets distracted into the waiting place, and when that little voice starts to whisper to us, what can we do? If that tiny nag rears its head, here are a few ways to help keep it at bay and in perspective, if not gone altogether:
- Stay too busy to hear it. Or to notice it. That’s not hard. But remember that the “busy” we stay needs to be worth-it busy. Cooking, exercise, and real work toward a goal of some sort all count.
- Change our perception of others and the “news” we see. We’ve talked about this one before. Remember what’s behind the curtain- there’s always more to the story than what you’re seeing.
- Look forward. Refuse the wait! Look to your own personal next step. Know that what you do is all there is.
- Check for what’s already come to fruition. What have you been waiting on that has already happened? As I mentioned above, sometimes these things happen in odd ways that we weren’t expecting, so keep a keen eye on what you’re perhaps not registering.
- Know that the truth is, even if something DID happen, it doesn’t change anything. Let’s face it- the sun will still rise and set, and you’ll still have to put on pants and shower and feed the kids and they’ll still bust attitude and need hugs and have to be put to bed. A huge event can occur, but the real-real? That remains constant- and beautiful.
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Amy Edwards
@realamyedwards
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