Mindful Waiting

We all have those days where it feels like all we do is hurry up and wait.  Rush to get to that doctor’s appointment– only to end up waiting in the exam room.  Hurry up to make it to our child’s bus stop on time– only to end up waiting because it’s running late.  Run around doing a slew of errands– only to end up waiting because seemingly EVERY traffic light decides to turn red.  Scoot quick into the grocery store with self-checkout lanes to pick up a few items– only to end up waiting because all their registers are down.  We’ve all been there, right?!  I know I have.

Ugh.

It can be awfully frustrating when waiting seems to interrupt the flow of our day, our well-laid plans for getting stuff done.  We could let it get us down, ruin our mood, increase our blood pressure and irritability.  I know that happens to me some days when things aren’t going as smoothly as I’d like!  But what if we adopted a different perspective on waiting?

Recently, this occurred to me as I was waiting for my daughter’s bus that was running very late.  Since I didn’t get the notification that the bus was delayed, I ended up sitting in the school parking lot– waiting.  I was feeling irritated and annoyed. I grumbled in my head “why didn’t they send a message? why didn’t I check the bus tracker before leaving the house?”  And as I heaved a big sigh of frustration, I happened to look up.  The picture on this blog post is what I saw– clear blue sky, fluffy white clouds, vibrantly green leaves.  It changed my perspective almost instantly.

Here’s how–

Instead of getting caught up in my frustration, what if waiting could be an opportunity to stop and breathe and practice mindfulness?  What if, whenever I get unexpectedly delayed, I take those few moments to look around and be aware of the beauty that surrounds me?  Instead of being annoyed, I could use that time to center myself and feel calmer and more at peace.  In short– I could look up and appreciate the late summer afternoon.  What a difference!  And what if you tried it, too?

It’s an easy change to make, as long as we remember to make it.  Give it a try next time you find yourself waiting somewhere, and see if it helps your mood!  And if you’re interested in finding out more about how music therapy can help in your mindfulness practice, feel free to contact me.  I’m always happy to answer questions!

~Stephanie