Delayed flights, trains and cabs can cause irritation or even consternation, and inordinately test one’s patience, depending on the urgency of one’s planned journey and on one’s temperament. By recently asking passengers to report three and a half hours ‘early’ at the Delhi airport, the authorities have added a new dimension to the word ‘patience’.
But life is a continual process of waiting, is it not? Waiting for a loved one, a teacher, a boss, a colleague, a friend or a parcel is the norm, rather than the exception. We are always waiting for something or someone to happen or show up. At times people are waiting for us, of course, but on such occasions too, we might be eagerly looking forward to the rendezvous, even though we are the errant and tardy ones.
A coffee meeting provides a case in point. One person is bound to walk in before the other, unless seamless synchronicity exists between the two individuals. And the one who waits, usually delves into his or her smartphone, but will perhaps feel somewhat offended if the other is delayed beyond five minutes.
A mother who waits for her teenaged daughter, a lover who waits for his beloved, a patient who waits to see the doctor, a vendor who waits for a customer, and a passenger who waits for his turn in a long winding queue, they all know that waiting is part of the game of life, but many of them feel utterly miffed at the wait, each wait.
{{/usCountry}}A mother who waits for her teenaged daughter, a lover who waits for his beloved, a patient who waits to see the doctor, a vendor who waits for a customer, and a passenger who waits for his turn in a long winding queue, they all know that waiting is part of the game of life, but many of them feel utterly miffed at the wait, each wait.
{{/usCountry}}Delays and the consequent act of waiting are so integrally embedded in our life and times that we tend to overlook the amount of time we spend awaiting the next appointment in our day. According to an article authored by Patricia Murphy and published in the Independent, we spend, on average, 10 minutes waiting in queues, 22 minutes waiting for a meal and 12 minutes awaiting a train. The average person spends 146 hours each year waiting for friends, trains or deliveries. And this accumulates to 389 days in an average life time, which is more than a year of waiting!
The question and moot point however is: How do we handle these delays and waiting periods? Do we spend all these hours stressing and anger filled? Or do we make the most of our waiting time as well? There are some who actually meditate while waiting. Others might read books (which, these days, can be digital and therefore readily available). Still others will be watching videos or scrolling aimlessly upon their screens, all the while feeling increasingly hurt at the prospect of spending more waiting time, and therefore unwittingly nearing that aforementioned ‘one year of waiting’ landmark!
I have been guilty of feeling impatient whilst waiting for someone or something at times, but have improved a bit, by surrendering to the ‘wait’. I have tried meditation, have read book extracts, have scrolled aimlessly (and at times, strolled aimlessly!) But I have come to the conclusion that it is best not to lose one’s calmness and bearings while being forced by delays to wait and wait.
Easier said than done, of course. It is a rare one who will smile when life tends to test his patience. People from the hills seem to have an edge over us ‘plains’ people though. They wait for hours for buses. They traverse long routes on foot to reach anywhere. Primary school children walk for hours in some areas to get to school and back. The cool climes and the added hardships, which are an inevitable part of their lot, enable these persons to remain far more calm than scurrying folks in the plains.
Immediate gratification is, of course, being made possible by extra zippy apps these days, but delicacies such as ‘gajar ka halwa’ (carrot pudding) cannot be made exquisitely in any sort of hurry. The best things in life still require time and calmness to savour to the fullest.
The lesson to be learnt from life’s waiting zones is of course a lesson in building one’s patience. And the patient ones most often conquer all challenges that life may force them to face. There’s nothing more delightful than finally attaining a much-awaited milestone, after all.
vivek.atray@gmail.com