Part of our life in Colombia has been learning to be not so “productive” – with all the moving pieces, many of them so far out of my control, I have nothing better to do than get very good at waiting. Contrary to what I have been doing my entire life, pausing and waiting is a wonderful skill to develop. It is a life lesson, not one I really wanted to learn, but something I’m not sure I will ever fully recover from either. A slower life… a pace worth aiming for.
I don’t mean the forced kind of waiting that my husband is really good at either, where you are pretty much white knuckling it until the next thing happens. I mean the kind of waiting where it could take longer or it could be now and you would be fine just the same. This can seem very situational, because some things are so much more time sensitive, like migraine medication or a bridesmaids dress expected in the mail. So perhaps its not the waiting I’m getting good at, it’s learning not to worry while I’m waiting.
When you aren’t rushing to the next appt., person or place, you get to delve deeper. You get to know your space, your friends and your tasks with much more intention. You create opportunities for something new to happen because you have free time, untapped energy and nothing better to do.
I made a small bucket list before coming here and about 90 percent of it I haven’t even touched. However, I have been able to get started on somethings that have been a wish for a long time because I finally have some open space in my life that I am not filling with busy-ness. I like it. A lot more than I thought I ever would. We don’t need endless opportunities or activities, we need time and space to explore the few things that pull at us.
I don’t say all this because I’m so good at living life slowly, I still stare at my iPhone and yell at my WiFi when it’s taking forever, but I’m learning the art of lingering and the true meaning of free time and I like what I see.
This is my favorite activity while waiting…. drinking good coffee, preferably with people I love.
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0 Responses
I totally agree: the art of lingering is precisely that: an art form. I’ve recently come to appreciate the power of slow, too. Not out of free will. But now that I have experienced it I kind of don’t want to live differently anymore. Feels so much better than a life of endless busy-ness.
Exactly….I realize how much I used to rush around (and still do) and how it zaps my energy for other things.
Yes, a total energy black hole! 🙂