Monday, July 25, 2011

"The Art of Waiting..."

...is the art of "cooling it."...the skill of dilly-dallying...
the choice of sticking around with a purpose.
The art of waiting
is the art of consciously pausing time
without knowing whatsoever what will happen next.
It is both the anticipation of a question and
the expectation of its answer.
It is a pregnant pause...
a lingering...
a wondering...a biding of time.
We can do this waiting, artfully, in silence...still and pensive...
or we can be more animated
and fidget...
or tap...or pace...or doodle...or wring our hands
with nervous energy.
We might just wait a minute...wait for hours...
or wait forever.
Sometimes we even "wait and see"...
or we wait
until we feel like we really can't wait one second longer!
We can hang around, hang out, hover over,
put on hold,
hold our horses...hold the phone...
hold on...
or, believe it or not,
often choose to hold absolutely everything!
Super humanly, we keep our shirt on, mark time, sit tight
while we simutaneously
lie in wait, lie low, and look forward to.
We might wait for...or wait on...
or wait until.
We might wait alone, or we can wait in a crowd...
or we might wait alone in a crowd.
We can wait at a bus stop...or wait for the mail...or wait by the phone.
We often wait until the second shoe falls...
or until the cows come home.
Some think they can wait until hell freezes over.
The art of waiting
can potentially paint away the painfulness of predicaments
and create a canvas of peace.
So...
may whatever it is you that might wait for today...
bring you
the answers you are looking for
or simply the
serenity you just might need.

“The world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension
waiting to be struck.”
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

12 comments:

Carin Winkelman said...

Seems like you know how to spend your waiting time productively! Nice drawing.

memawneas@yahoo.com said...

Margaret, I'm getting ready to do the church newsletter (and getting sidetracked, as usual!). Please can I print this in our newsletter (with a tribute to you, of course!)? We're just a small country church in the NE corner of TN, and we've been renovating our kitchen (Lutherans do love to cook, you know), and some members aren't as good at waiting as others, so this would really be a perfect addition this month! I'll understand if you say 'no', but I just love this! ~ Suzanne

Teri said...

That is a lot of waiting! And a beautiful way to do it.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Yes, it seems like life gives us opportunity for all of these ways of waiting at one time or another. Cute sketch too.

Sandra said...

Hope that all is well.

Anonymous said...

You got that right sista! And finally my waiting is OVER! I am all about action now! jgl:)

Margaret Ann said...

@ Suzanne...Sure...that would be just fine... I just sent you an email...:)

PAK ART said...

I love your words! Seriously! I can get so impatient sometimes, and then other times I wish the wait would go on forever because I don't want whatever it is to end. I guess time is time and will pass the same whether we want it to or not.

Alex said...

Absolutely love the colors =) I am always drawn to green, and I am always glad that your artwork usually has a lot of green in them ^^

nanke's stuff said...

Great post. I love what you've written and your drawing is lovely. nancy

Anonymous said...

I love your new botanical series. You really have a special way of working.

studio lolo said...

Wonderful sketch, and your advice is so George Carlin-esque!!
:D