Sweet Anticipation...Not Always!

 I have noticed recently that the waiters in restaurants now introduce themselves as "servers". "Hello, my name is 'x" and I am your server." I for one am glad of the change. For years I thought they had it backwards! 

It seems at times we are all caught between two extremes. On the one hand we live in a society where everything is NOW - fast food, instant messaging, word of mouse (emails and tweets) etc. Everywhere you go these days people are clutching some type of gadget in their hand hungry for entertainment or personal (impersonal!) contact. On the other hand we are often caught in situations where we must enter a long line to get what we want. Think elevator, doctor's office, supermarket, food court, bus or subway. I must confess what bugs me is when the person ahead of me in the supermarket line-up uses a debit card to purchase a loaf of bread, and then can't get it to work! Then there are the drivers who endanger the lives of others with their impatience. It's as if the rules don't apply to them. This kind of selfishness might be termed the 'centre of the universe' syndrome. Nobody matters but them...very un-Canadian!

Example of Expectation and Patience

So learning to live fast and slow is part of adjusting to everyday life. The forbearance is often the more difficult to practice because we always seems to be in a hurry. To endure under difficult circumstances is not always easy. Yet long-term persistence often produces the best rewards. I think it is the Buddhists  who say that if we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking. Learning to play a musical instrument is a slow and difficult task and impatience often wins out. As a result the individual quits his or her quest depriving themselves of the joy that might have been theirs. Students who drop out and no longer work towards a specific goal, will find themselves deprived of meaningful work down the road.

"I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end."  Margaret Thatcher

The Medical Report is Due Today!

A huge component of waiting is anticipation. It too can be positive or negative. Anticipation is an emotion involving pleasure and excitement, hoping for something good to happen - like a great summer after a long winter. Then there is anxiety, hoping for something  not to happen - like the medical report after a series of tests. How many times when facing a huge hurdle, such as a major examine in university, was I concerned. However, when the results were in how relieved I was and said, 'That was not so bad!'  When it is something good that was to happen, the anticipation was positive reinforcement. Even to this day when I think about launching the sailboat and once again setting out to explore the lake, I feel a sense of exciting anticipation. 

So like so much of life, there are moments of hope and positive anticipation and then there are moments of deep concern. Both kinds of anticipation are an essential feature of our daily lives. 

At least the waiters finally learned that they are the servers and we are the waiters!

And that's Dick's View of the World this Week.