I have the use of my daughter’s car while she is deployed in Kuwait and I recently needed to take it to the dealership so that they could correct a couple of recall issues. The dealership was a little over an hour away and the service took 4 ½ hours. I wisely used the time to get some writing done, but it made me aware of just how much time people spend simply waiting.
I do not go to medical doctors as a rule, but on those few occasions when I have, I could not help feeling that my time had been wasted, as I sat for an hour or longer on some occasions. Many people make regular visits to their doctors, the eye doctor, the dentist, the veterinarian, etc., and most likely spend a good portion of their lives sitting in waiting rooms. It seems odd when so many people congregate together in a small space, but barely acknowledge the person sitting next to them. These days, most of them have cell phones to pass their time and most waiting rooms have televisions that keep the eyes of those waiting, glued to them. Most waiting rooms have magazines, as well, and some even offer coffee and/or water.
We wait in our cars for the light to change or for the traffic jam to clear. We wait in the checkout at the grocery store. We wait at the driver’s license bureau for our number to be called. How much time in a person’s life, does she spend waiting? This phenomena is unique to our modern life. We live our lives around this thing we call time, but that does not actually exist. We rush around and hurry hither and thither, or we wait. Some people actually live their lives in a kind of holding pattern, simply waiting for the next thing and never learn to enjoy the current moment.
