What Are You Waiting For?
If you’ve read my Skirt! essay, River Talk, then you may recall that I don’t remember much of the information stuffed into my head in high school. In addition to Siddhartha, I’ve recalled the basic premise of the Samuel Beckett play, Waiting For Godot. Two guys, Vladimir and Estragon, wait on a country road by a tree and talk about how they are waiting for Godot. But of course Godot never comes. As a high school student I thought, “what a dumb play.” Now as a middle-ager, I think, “wow, that play’s brilliant. It’s a commentary on life.”
Do you have a Godot (or Godots) in your life? Something that you’re waiting over and over for that never comes?
Maybe it’s time to go get IT, whatever IT is instead of waiting passively for IT.
It’s common for us humans to think we’ll always have time tomorrow. The problem with tomorrow, of course, is that it never comes. Today is yesterday’s tomorrow. You’ll be chasing tomorrow forever if you wait for it.
Want to try a rebellious exercise? Pick something you’ve been putting off that you actually want to do and tear a sheet of paper in half. On the left, try listing all the reasons WHY you’re not doing it and on the right all the reasons WHY you want to do it/could do it.
Look at creative ways to get around the reasons on the left. Are they really true or is something else getting in your way?
Muse thanks,
Giulietta
p.s. Check out my on-line writing class, “Secrets of Personal Essay Writing.”
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Wonderful Giulietta…
I’d also posit that the list on the left, once made, could be heavily edited if we cross out all the reasons that are actually just excuses and not obstacles waiting to be overcome.
My ‘con’ lists usually get really short when I actually boil down what it is I need to do to make something happen. More than most of the ‘reasons’ I tend to put down (or used to put down) tend to be summed up as what I’m afraid of rather than actual, tangible issues of logistics.
I find that it makes my decisions easier. And I like simple… 🙂
Namaste, G.
Hey Michael,
Great idea to go back and cross out the excuses. It would significantly shorten the list – if not eliminate it completely in some cases!
Thx. G.
This is so true! Tomorrow is not guaranteed! I learned that lesson 12 years ago, yet I still procrastinate. Why oh why do I do that?
Hi Tracy,
Most of us stay in waiting mode. Like we are always “on deck” practicing instead of stepping into the limelight. What scares us about the limelight?
Thx. G.
It’s so interesting…I keep saying I’m tired of waiting. I know I’m not alone in this.
And yet it’s still so easy to fill time with “busy” things rather than important, purposeful things.
So thank you for the gentle reminder/kick in the pants/nice peaceful nudge in the direction that is right for me.
You’re welcome Kim! I know from my own experiences, the busy things keep me nice and cozy in an emotional safety zone. Yet, it feels deadening in there. So, I’ve learned to jump into new frontiers not knowing where I’m going to land. That’s part of the adventure.
Thx for stopping in! G.
Giulietta –
My new mantra is “make it happen”. I hear people telling me every day what they want to do, then finding reasons not to. Life is way to short to mess around. If something is worth doing, then start now. Great pep talk!
Phil
Excellent quote Phil, “Life is way too short to mess around.” Isn’t it?
Thx, G.
Giulietta, I just read your wonderful, inspirational, funny, and SO encouraging River Talk. Thank you! I loved how you tapped back into the flow of your own life – how you found the courage to dance again with your own natural rhythms and abilities.
I love kayaking, too, and will soon be kayaking again (after a break of decades) on Lake Kawaguchi, at the foot of Mount Fuji. Come over and join me someday.
Since I have been self-employed all of my adult life I see this as the only way to navigate the currents of modern society, and it has been my way of dancing my own rhythms.
I very much appreciate your sharing today, and the deep resonance of River Talk. Thank you, Giulietta.
Morning greetings again from the mountains of Japan – Catrien Ross.
Catrien,
Glad you enjoyed river talk.
Would love to kayak at the base of Mount Fuji. Sounds beautiful. I applaud you for always being self-employed. Take courage, for sure.
Although my dad had always been self-employed, it never occurred to me to even go that route until presented with one of those pivotal life “forks.” One way follows the beaten path, the other the path less traveled by.
thx, G.
I like your focus on action over pushing off dreams into the future.
I never have a problem acting on “it” … but I do have to prioritize among all the “its” to figure out my next best “it” to do 😉
Hi J.D.,
Yes, competing “its” can get overwhelming. Glad you’ve got too many “its” rather than too few.
Thx, G.
Brilliant! So true. A piece most of us can relate to. Why do we leave so many things for tomorrow? I’ve been doing just that all my life but now, as my todays disappear almost as soon as they have come and my tomorrows are more limited, I’m trying not to put off doing things before it is too late. My big regret is that I wasted too much time waiting for the Godot or the tomorrow or the break that never came.
Hi Penelope!
Great point. It seems like most of us stand in the shadows “waiting” for our lucky break. Think about it. Even the people who were allegedly “discovered,” had put themselves out there, taken the chance to be seen. Glad you are putting things “on.”
Thx. G.