Inspiration from Dr. Seuss: The Waiting Place
June 28, 2009
The Waiting Place…
…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
*
This passage was taken from Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
So, tell me… what are YOU waiting for? When will you really start living and enjoying your life? Notice I didn’t ask, “Are you waiting for something to happen before you start really living?” because I KNOW you are. We ALL are… we’re perpetual procrastinators.
I’ll even be the first to answer:
What am I waiting on, Lisis? Well, let’s see… I’m waiting on Jeff’s job situation to improve, and I’m waiting on our house to sell. I’m even hoping those happen in the right order so that we’ll have a smooth transition. I’m waiting on the answer for what is coming next in our lives, where we should live, and what is in store for this blog? I’m waiting for Divine motivation to inspire me to exercise, and I’m waiting on having enough money to get out and see the world… or fly a plane. I’m basically camped out at The Waiting Place right now, but determined to get out of it.
What are you waiting on? How will YOU get out of The Waiting Place?
Thanks!
Related posts:
- How to Stay Sane While Waiting for a Diagnosis
- Inspiration from Osho: Three Truths About Life
- Inspiration from Yoko Ono: Seasons Pass
Posted in inspirational quotes
content rss
This is one of my favourite books, I dont even think its really just a childs book. I like the page about deciding if you choose to go there.
Lisis, this is a good question. I am waiting to become the person I see in my conscience, a person who lives a “beautiful life”, a home that is organised and filled with beautiful pieces, she’s not a “shopper”, shes purposeful. Somehow something stops me from writing all this down, I think for fear I can not live up to this.
Will I choose to go there?
Hmmm.
Sara
Hi Lisis, what a buring n right question raised in this post. if we all make an introspection i think will find ourmselves waiting for something in ours lives.your post makes us to stop for a while n think sincerely abt what we seeking in our lives is it worthful or worthless.
Happy Sunday
Manish
Thanks, you guys! I really wish I had some super useful blogger list of answers as to HOW to get out of the Waiting Place. But if I had that, I guess I wouldn’t find myself there too!
That makes me wonder… if we are ALL waiting on something, maybe it’s just the natural state of things. Maybe the key to happiness is waiting on the RIGHT things, or finding ways to enjoy the waiting process. Hmm…. ?
Hi Lisis,
I love this Dr. Seuss book! And you’ve highlighted a very important thought that comes up in there. Waiting. Yes, I think we all do that too. To some extent. And what I love about this post – is that by stating our “waits”, we’re bringing them into our forefront…putting focus on them, and making them real.
I really appreciate you sharing so openly what you’re waiting for. There’s so much honesty in your words, and that is very affirming for me.
I’m waiting for: Some divine direction in my life. For that book to write itself. For me to have the courage to fully live my dreams. For my kids to get to that next step in life, before I start living mine more authentically.
And…I’m waiting for breakfast to magically make itself…
Wonderful post, Lisis! You’ve touched on something I too often try “not” to think about…
Lance´s last blog ..Sunday Thought For The Day
Thanks, Lance! I love how you listed the things you are waiting for. Clearly you’ve thought about them, despite trying “not” to. We all try to pretend our life isn’t on hold, but if you look closely enough…
The one you mentioned of your kids getting to that next step is a big one. You know the old saying, “When they are babies we can’t wait for them to walk and talk, but once they do, we want them to sit down and shut up.” Having kids is one of those things that puts us further on the waiting track, because suddenly, it’s not just OUR needs that count.
I also had an “unwritten” book that I had hoped would come to fruition when Hunter started school… but then we decided to home school! So that book is back on my imaginary shelf for a while… just waiting.
I read this earlier, and spent a little while thinking of something great to say, got it all worked out in my head, and came back to leave a comment….
Only to find that Lance had said what I was going to say! See? This is what happens when you sit around waiting…someone beats you to the punch!
But anyway, despite the fact that Lance already said it…I’m waiting for divine inspiration, for a door to open to show me the next step to take along my path, for the book to write itself, for the courage to fully live my dreams…
Jay Schryer´s last blog ..Lazy Summer Days
What a GREAT post. You’re right in saying that we’re all waiting for something. Personally I’m waiting for a job that I’m in love with, a novel that I can publish, and time when I feel truly at peace with myself. Working on my blog has helped me a lot with all three of these but there are stilly many steps I have to take!
Positively Present´s last blog ..what to do when you want to click "undo"
Funny to read this post as I’m waiting for a delivery that should have arrived five minutes ago… Other than that, I’ll take time today to consider your question and see what I’m truly waiting for and what I’m going to do to get it. Thanks for the post; I enjoyed it.
@Jay (and/or Lance): Maybe you guys share a spirit, like Nadia and I do. I swear that young lady always beats me to the punch. She must wait less than I do. I’m like you, Jay… I sit on my thoughts too long, waiting to get them just right (only to find I’m a little too late!).
@Dani: I can sooooo relate to all those things you are waiting on. I will say, however, that my phase of waiting to be “truly at peace with myself” is now officially over. I do feel 100% at peace with myself… ready or not, perfect or not, accomplished or not, polished or not… THIS is me, and I’m OK with that. So, maybe that will give you a little hope that some of these waiting games can have a happy ending.
@ Laurie: That’s so funny that you were JUST waiting for your delivery! We spent the past two days listening to my son count down the minutes, the seconds sometimes, until the UPS guy delivered his newest LEGO kit. It was great math practice for him, but nearly drove us nuts! I’m so glad UPS did, in fact, deliver yesterday.
If you do come up with your answers about what you are waiting for, I’d love to hear them… in fact, I’ll be waiting for them.
Hi Lisis,
Isn’t it amazing how we are all waiting for something? Shows how universal the human experience is on so many levels. As for me, I am waiting to see where the Universe guides me. My life has been through so many changes and I find myself in a very new place of being. So I am waiting to see where this journey will take me next. I feel like I am in between chapters and I am curious to see what the next chapter will bring.
Nadia-HappyLotus´s last blog ..Happy News (June 28, 2009) – Tribute to Michael Jackson
That’s a nice poem, thanks for sharing. Great message.
Awesome post. And too true… we are all waiting on something. …when I get enough money for this, when this gets better, when I can finally buy this or move here… I’ve noticed that in the past year or so that there is always one next step to get past before things will finally be better. It’s such a common trap to get used to… and truly believe in. I don’t know the way out, yet, but being more aware of it is definitely the first step.
Karen´s last blog ..Blogging Blueprint Review
This post really hit home for me today because of where I am in my life right now, literally. One of the reasons I am back in the States – actually, the main reason I am back in the States – is to put my paperwork in order for mine and Gregory’s marriage. And there are time limits on how quickly (or slowly) things can happen and how long I need to be here before returning.
In a lot of ways, it is easy to feel like this summer period is just one big season of waiting and biding my time being somewhere I don’t really want to be until I can finally be back “home” with my fiance and lovely new house. Truth be told, I have felt this way since being back … several times. But this is doing myself and my time in the States a disservice. And I am now looking at this time as a gift to wrap up loose ends, close chapters, and resolve anything that needs to be resolved here. I am also working on achieving goals that I kept postponing in Greece — like getting fit, writing, developing new ideas for my classroom.
I think seasons of waiting are bound to happen to all of us at some points in our lives. And sometimes these are indeed meant to be times of rest and a respite from work. But there are also times where we are called on to wait actively, and this can be a very good thing for us.
Lovely post, Lisis.
Chania Girl´s last blog ..You’re Beautiful
Hey guys! I got a little behind responding to comments because I was out at the pool again today. Let’s just say summer is not my most productive season.
You’ve all brought up such wonderful points, and kept this conversation going in all sorts of neat directions. I’ve been thinking about this whole “waiting” thing in a whole new way… more like you said, Carla, like a time of “active waiting” that calls for a certain action. We may be waiting on a particular result, but in the meantime we can find a way to make the most of things… like your summer in the States, or my “extended stay” in Costa Rica courtesy of their oddball immigration laws.
We all have to wait on this or that, but the wait itself doesn’t have to mean we postpone happiness or enjoyment. We just have to find OTHER things to enjoy and be happy about… right?
Thanks for this. Right now I am waiting for authors to give me advance quotes for a book and I need to stop watching my e-mail waiting for them to respond.
Chris Edgar | Purpose Power Coaching´s last blog ..10 Motivational Metal Masterpieces
I know what you mean, Chris. Seems like I’m always waiting on some email or another. Waiting for replies… on emails, comments, tweets, you name it!
Good luck with your book!
[...] in a row before we start fully living. What if those ducks never get in a row and we are stuck in The Waiting Place forever? We’ve decided to reverse the process: we are going to DO some exciting things, and [...]
great quotes from one of my favorite dr. seus book. Thanks a lot for putting it up.
[...] standing still during these hard economic times: many likely will be hanging out like some scene in The Waiting Place from Dr. Seuss’ Oh, The Places You’ll [...]
I waited for so long to begin writing… thought i first needed to polish up by writing skills…. get a perfect domain name…… have enough money for web hosting…. and have a flashy website…….
All this time not knowing that if i needed to improve, i needed to begin sharing from where i was and with the little i had…..
With that realization, i begun to walk the path…. In the last few months i have learnt a number of lessons i would have never learned had i insisted on remaining in the Waiting Place….
My philosophy now is to stop pursuing the dream but begin living it (in a way). Infact i figure that is the best way to “pursue” a dream or a passion…. it is to begin living it from where i am and with what i have.
Not always easy, but hey…. easy was never the mother of invention…. necessity was. Easy is not an option in the serious matters of life.
Thank you for the reminder.
Kabamba´s last blog ..Passion vs. Profit – How Shall We Live?
I’m really glad you started pursuing your writing… the world is a better place because of it! We absolutely need to remember to stop ambiguously pursuing anything, and just start DOing!
Thanks for your blog.
Emily´s last blog ..Blog – A Turning Point @ the key change