Musings

The Art of Waiting

I remember reading this analogy somewhere, probably in one of Osho’s works. He talks of a woman who has a baby growing in her womb. She cannot hurry the process. The seasons come and go. The phases of the moon grow and ebb, but she simply receives all that comes her way. When the time is right, she will receive her gift. There is beauty in staying in rhythm with nature and passively waiting for the inevitable to happen. What often goes unrecognized, is that this patience needs enormous strength too.

Often in life, we feel frustrated at the slow pace of things. Events which are perceived to be adverse and different from our own expectations often leave us disheartened. But there is a time for everything in life. And even though we cannot see it when we are in the midst of turmoil, one is chosen to be a part of a circumstance only when one is fully prepared to deal with it. You can make all the plans you want to make, you can pull all the strings you want to pull, but everything happens at its own time.

Look around and admire the cycles of nature. Trees turn bare when the frost comes in. But they renew their vows when spring arrives. Green leaflets pierce through their brownness. A fruit which is artificially ripened never has the delicious flavour of one that is left to grow at its own pace. Birds cannot break open the shells of their eggs to hasten the birth of their fledglings.

Somewhere, we seem to have lost the art of waiting. We expect everything to be fast forwarded and look for quick rewards. When they do not come our way, we are anxious about our potential.

But there is both courage and charm in passivity. Waiting needs strength. Waiting needs patience. And most of all, waiting needs faith. When you are ready, the time will come. Ultimately, whatever will be, will be.

8 Comments

  • Monika Kalra

    Que Sera Sera whatever will be will be …… beautiful and so very true ….. courage and charm in passivity…. hmmm that is profound …. wonderful as always! ♥️

  • Subodh S Gupta

    Quoting Swami Chinmayanand, “To be patient means to suffer something that hinders or hurts us, and still retain our self-composure. How many difficulties, with their consequent unpleasantness and discord, could be smoothed over and almost entirely eliminated by patience. Patience always elevates and strengthens our character. We need it not only with others, but also with ourselves.”

  • Subodh S Gupta

    I remember reading Swami Chinmayanand in Swatmabodh. He writes, all constructive things happen slowly. And, he gives examples of how an earthquake or a cyclone can destroy things so fast, but when you start to reconstruct again, so much time it takes. We must learn to be ‘patient’.

  • Kishan Ajjampur

    I learnt the art of patience while playing the role of chauffeur for my dad during my college holidays. Those days there were no cell phones and had to spend time counting the leaves falling off trees or the number of rain drops on the windscreen. But what it did teach me was that we can learn a lot from the time we spend with ourselves. It taught me patience, which I use in my daily life dealing with everything, and life is a better place now.
    On a lighter note, nothing teaches patience more than falling in love and having to wait for the love of your life to get ready…

    • Anshu

      Who knows better about waiting in love than you Kishan! Write that Bollywood film script based on your story some day!

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