We all have experienced waiting. But could waiting be in danger of dying out as a phenomenon? Many of us do not like the feelings associated with waiting – the slow passing of time, the uncertainty, the sense of being stuck in some misty limbo land with no clear path in sight. So we try to avoid waiting by engaging in an astonishing variety of distracting activities. Just to keep our minds busy with something. Avoid facing uncertainty. But could waiting be a valuable experience? If it can help us open up to unexpected thoughts, ideas, anything really, I think it has an unappreciated and perhaps forgotten value. Permitting, even (just maybe!) enjoying the unexpected, the uncertain, the un-pre-planed to enter my life van make me more flexible, adaptive, grounded, and generally calmer. And curious. Let’s not forget the beauty of curiosity and its strength as an antidote to the rigidity of the conviction that we have all the answers already.

Here is a short video where philosophy professor Ellie Anderson discusses the phenomenon of waiting and the difference between clock time and lived time: Waiting. It is a shorter version of the more detailed, longer podcast episode that she and her co-host did on the Overthink podcast (in case you grow curious for more). Enjoy!

Keeping up the “Spreading the Word” tradition, I hope to share an insightful and thought-provoking article, podcast episode or video every weekend. Humans have always turned and returned to storytelling to find meaning. My weekends’ “Spreading the Word” posts are an online version of sharing meaningful stories.   

keep exploring and storytelling!

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