Waiting - Tuesday 12/3 Morning Muse
The Thanksgiving celebration is behind us, Christmas and Hanukkah are just ahead. Many of us look forward to these annual celebrations with much anticipation.
The Attraction
A part of that, I believe, is the opportunity to step away from the demands or ordinariness of life. Another part, based on my observations, is the opportunity to create the perfect environment, that perfect life. It is the desire to experience robustness in all of life – healthy relationships, beautiful food, warm and inviting decorations, precious memories; that state of being where all is well in both the inner and outer worlds.
The Experience
Too many times we are disappointed, as actual experience falls short of expectation. And we are left to wait. Perhaps next year. Or the next time. Or the next person. And often, the continuing disconnect between experience and this great longing can become frustration or even bitterness. To the point that we sometimes simply choose to kill desire. Sadly, too many have chosen this path. And cannot, with any specificity, tell you what they want.
The Waiting
We have heard stories of the waiting. Waiting for clarity regarding a specific direction in life. Waiting for just the right buyer for the business. Or for the next generation to step in to opportunity. Or for just the right person to marry. For the adult children to call. Or for someone to be well during a long illness, or to seek help so they can be well. Or after years of dedication and hard work, the top line revenue of the business to grow. And in many of these situations, you and I have done all we know to do. And yet we wait.
The Heart
And in this waiting, what matters most is how we handle our heart. Do we give up? Give way to cynicism, disappointment, bitterness? Simply strike hope and desire from our lives, embrace resignation and quiet desperation? Let’s not. Let’s choose to engage. To stay in the game. In process. Living, learning, growing. Exercising our gratefulness muscles. Continue to dream, to plan, to hope, to desire. And in the midst of all this, with great desire, choose to be content in the waiting. This side of eternity, we only see in part, know in part. So, we choose to embrace belief, hope, faith, and love. And whether here, or in the world to come, we will see all our dreams come true.
“If we have longings which can never be satisfied in this world, it is obvious that we were made for another world.”
C.S. Lewis
Until we see you again, wishing you only the best.