Deep within the act of waiting lies wisdom.
Deep within the act of waiting lies a superpower,
There for you to take hold of.
Hey there,
Friends.
Welcome.
Thanks for clicking play on this short audio track today.
My name is Anthony V.
Lombardo,
And I hope I could offer you some insight,
Inspiration to start your day and maybe give you something to think about and hopefully help you live a more conscious and meaningful existence.
So yes,
Good old fashioned waiting around for just about anything could seem torturous,
Unpleasant,
Irritating,
Literally waiting for anything.
But as I opened with,
There's some real wisdom and indeed a superpower hidden within waiting.
So why the act of waiting?
Because waiting is critical to mindfulness.
Waiting is critical to living an awakened life.
More importantly,
Virtually every time we're waiting,
It's so easy to meet that moment with resistance.
And when we do that,
When we resist the moment because we're waiting,
We're saying no to life in the present.
We go into a quick state of impatience and frustration in which our bodies tense up,
Causing us to feel confined or stuck.
And this type of resistance from waiting shows up many times throughout our days and weeks.
You go to the grocery store and you think you're just going to run in and out and get something quickly,
One or two items.
You head to the checkout line and you're greeted by a ginormous line.
What happens?
I know I've been there.
You have someone in front of you with seems like 10,
000 items or they're going through their coupon book and you just want to get out of there.
You just want to go home and make dinner or do whatever it is you wanted to do.
Or maybe it's when you're stopped in traffic.
Traffic's a common one that causes most of us frustration,
Especially when we feel like we have to get somewhere.
Or maybe it's when you're doing household chores that you really don't want to be doing and you're rushing to get them over with.
Or maybe you're at your desk,
Ready to do your work for the day and your computer is stalling out or you need to restart your computer and it's just taking a long time.
When we get frustrated anytime we're waiting,
As I said,
It's become synonymous with saying no to life,
Saying no to the present moment,
To the life happening right before our eyes.
This has been a struggle of mine.
I'm the type of person that always wants to keep things moving,
So to speak.
So I can get back to whatever it is my mind is convinced it prefers doing.
How many times have you thought to yourself,
I can't wait until I get this moment over so I can get to that better moment in the future.
That exact sentiment came through my mind the other day.
I was at the dentist and I was waiting for them to call me for my appointment and the whole time I'm sitting there thinking,
Okay,
Once this is over I'm going to have to do this,
This,
And that and I'll go home and I'll be able to do X,
Y,
And Z.
Completely looking at the dentist appointment as throwaway time in my life,
Like it doesn't matter.
The problem with this kind of attitude when it comes to waiting is that it reinforces a more detrimental attitude of living a life that is always waiting for the next great moment or for the next moment that we deem is worthy enough.
Resistance towards waiting cultivates the big problem we all face as humans which is the I'll be happy when syndrome.
However,
Conversely,
When we let go and surrender to these moments of when we're waiting,
Cultivates awareness,
Cultivates mindfulness,
Cultivates compassion for the present,
For the life that is happening right now in this second and thus truly living a more awakened life.
So waiting can be one of our greatest teaching.
The act of waiting can indeed show us wisdom and we can turn it into a superpower to something that benefits our life.
So here's what I challenge you to do today and for the rest of the week and try to keep it up as much as you can.
Anytime you are waiting,
No matter what you are doing,
No matter what you are waiting for,
Instead of thinking about when it's going to be over or how much you're waiting,
Put your attention on your body and see if you can just relax.
Allow yourself to just relax.
Feel your whole body.
Feel the ground beneath your feet.
Become aware of your legs,
Your shoulders,
Your back,
Your breathing.
Can you detect your heartbeat?
I actually do this often when I'm at the grocery store and I'm waiting at the checkout line.
I just put my awareness on my feet on the floor or I just focus on my lower back or my shoulders.
It's pretty interesting.
While you're doing that,
You just can't help but to feel the aliveness coming through you.
And that comes to this next part where the real superpower is.
When you're waiting and you're focusing on a part of your body,
Answer this one question.
Now,
What does it feel like to be alive?
What does it feel like to be a human?
What do you notice?
If you sincerely try to do this and investigate and truly try to get an answer,
You will see you are no longer waiting.
But in fact,
You're living.
You're no longer waiting for life to happen.
Life is flowing through you.
Life is happening through you and all around you and within you.
Give it a try.
See how it feels.
And I'd love to know your experience and how it went for you.
So please,
I encourage you to leave a comment if you happen to do this.
Thanks for listening.
I wish you a wonderful,
Beautiful,
Highly conscious,
Radiantly alive day.
Much love.
