The Waiting Game

They say that on Kafka’s desk there was a plaque on which the word Warten was written (wait, translated from German).

It is hard to play the waiting game. Maybe the hardest of them all. It is hard to let the time pass by when all one wants is to embrace it, use it, and not let it slip away knowing that one has done everything in one’s power in order to find oneself closer to what one wants. But the hardest thing is to wait and do nothing, being aware of the fact that nothing can be done, that it is no longer in one’s power and that, sometimes, it’s better to do nothing than to do something just for the sake of it.

I, for one, never was good at this game. Sometimes, I can make believe that the waiting does not worry me, that it does not exhaust me, disillusion or sadden me.

In the waiting game there are no winners, even though people say that good things come to those who wait. But there is a certain freedom that may equate with a victory, but not quite because the feeling exceeds the limits of expectation.

So, if you find yourself restless or wanting hard for the clarification or resolution of a situation, take a small break. Breathe. And ... wait. Wait! Soon you’ll feel relieved.