It doesn’t matter how impatient we are, we all have to wait sometimes.
This can happen whether we’re waiting for a career or business opportunity, to find love or for an experience of God.
There are times when we’ve done the work (or at least think that we have) and the only thing that we can do is wait.
As I see it, there are two kinds of waiting:
Passive waiting is when you sit there as if you’re on a recliner, waiting for things to be brought to you.
You’re not going to get your own drink, remote control or rug for the knees. You’re totally reliant on others to get it for you and you’ll wait as long as you need to, complaining to everyone within earshot if it doesn’t come quickly enough.
Then there’s active waiting, which is what you do when you’re in the line for a ride at a theme park.
You’re excited, anticipating what’s coming, sharing the joy with those around you and knowing that you’re getting ever closer to your goal.
You may be waiting, but you’re also making progress.
When you’re totally dependent on others for what you want out of life, you could be waiting a long time, perhaps forever. Sure, it does give you something to complain about, but passive waiting is at best unreliable and at worst lazy.
If you haven’t got what you want yet, but you’re actively waiting, your turn will come. The waiting, the anticipation and the excitement will all be worth it when you get to the head of the line and get to enjoy the ride.
And when you get what you’ve been waiting for, it’s a great ride!
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4 comments
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May 3, 2011 at 1:46 pm
Debbie
Active waiting is not such a bad thing, is it? Maybe we appreciate what we’ve waited for more that way. 🙂 Thanks!
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May 4, 2011 at 3:24 pm
Darren Poke
I agree, the aim of this post was to highlight the importance of waiting actively rather than passively.
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May 6, 2011 at 3:20 am
Ryan Chua
Exactly. When you’re waiting it doesn’t mean that you just sit there wait for things to happen. If you’re waiting for something you want, at least make an effort to make it happen. Of course when you are waiting you have no choice, no matter how hard you try time won’t move fast to make the waiting shorter. But at least be productive, you can achieve other things while waiting.
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May 6, 2011 at 11:47 am
Darren Poke
Thanks Ryan, great comment.
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