Let’s talk about waiting….Are you waiting for something right now?
Waiting for your body to heal? Waiting for the perfect job to be available? Waiting for the right partner to come into your life? Waiting to get fully vaccinated? Waiting for summer to arrive? Waiting for an email?
I notice when I find myself waiting for something, I let impatience take over and get the best of me. I get really frustrated with reality. I feel my mind not be in the present moment, but more so focused on what could or should be happening. It is like I am fighting with reality. And then when I reflect on the time I spent “waiting,” I realize I just frustratingly wasted time. I let time, this precious gift, get lost in the sauce of my mind.
Here are a few things I have been playing with to support myself practicing patience and playing the "waiting game" with more ease:
Pause and recognize the sensation of impatience. For me it typically feels like a temper tantrum in my feet and hands. My heart beats faster and my body wants to move or my mouth wants to say something.
Breathe in my present moment experience. I let my feelings of frustration and the sensations of impatience be present--not making it right, wrong, good or bad.
Say to myself: “It’s like this.” In this very moment, this is what is. Let me embrace and accept it (even if I don’t like it). Accepting it allows for there to be more ease because I am not resisting the present moment. Saying to myself, “It’s like this” calms my nervous system and allows me to feel acknowledged.”It’s like this” brings me back into the present moment.
No need to fight with reality. No need to create more frustration and agitation in my mind or body. “It’s like this.”