Sometimes I get the curious sense that I’m waiting… “What are you waiting for?” I ask myself. “I don’t know…” Perhaps I’m waiting for the perfect job, waiting for a new opportunity, waiting to find ‘the one,’ waiting to find something to do, waiting to figure out the meaning of it all. Eventually you realize waiting is a fool’s game. No one is going to give you anything. “Perfect” isn’t free; it’s desired and worked for. Love doesn’t find you; it’s sought after and discovered. Waiting implies inactivity, inactivity implies complacency, complacency implies settling. At that point, you might as well curl up and await death. Perhaps I’m ‘Waiting for Godot…’
I was recently introduced to the literary piece that previously was only an allusion with faint meaning. After hanging on the eloquent words of the 2 hour, 2 act play; the allusion came to life. The props are few and the stage requires little in the line of a set, so as not to distract the audience; the meaning behind the words and implications are all that is needed. ‘Waiting for Godot’ is a metaphor for life. The play explores the meaning of life and trivialities that we tend to fill our lives with, just to “pass the time.” One of the themes that was most clear to me was our tendencies to remain safe and comfortable.
At times I feel as though I’m waiting to figure out the “right” course of action, the “right” path, the “right” decision. More and more I’m realizing that “right” is an illusion; a preconceived notion that there is one way to live life and be successful. “Right” also implies that “wrong” exists; that you could fail, make a misstep, or take a wrong turn. However, without failure, you can’t learn, without learning, you can’t grow and improve, and without out that you won’t amount to anything but being unremarkable. I think of Thomas Edison and how many times he failed before arriving at the first sustainable light bulb; absolutely remarkable!
As I continue down my own path, I do my best to correct course along the way, learn from my mistakes, and do better next time. I am also trying to take more risks, push myself outside my comfort zone and explore new territories.
Stop waiting, it’s not coming. Go get it.