Top Tip #3: Give Up Waiting

Give up waiting. Remember that now is all there is. What are you waiting for? Realise that you have already arrived and that the journey its self, is the destination. So if you find yourself waiting in a queue let’s say, don’t look to the front of the queue as the solution, because in truth the front of the queue is no better or worse than the back of the queue, it will still be now when you get there! Being at the back of the queue and wanting to be in the future and at the front of the queue turns the queue into a problem. It brings up emotional discomfort in the body, maybe some frustration, anxiety or agitation and upsets your appreciation of the moment. Realise that the queue is not a problem; it is the resistance to the queue that’s the problem and if you can be present and observe the desire to be somewhere other than now, you can bring awareness to the waiting and then there is an opportunity for some useful Mindful practice. The queue makes you stop, be thankful for that.  You may choose to leave the queue and that’s fine, but if you choose to stay, use it as a meditation use the waiting to be more present. Check into your body, focus on your senses, and come alive to what’s here right now. Do a quick body scan, see what you feel in your body. Can you feel any tension in your neck or shoulders? What are you carrying in your jaw?  Don’t resist what you feel, we are not saying that it shouldn’t be there, if there is tension there then there is tension there, that’s fine. Simply observe how it feels and let it be. Now go deeper, look into your body. Can you feel any emotions? Has the queue brought anything up in you? Frustration agitations, anger, worry? Just observe, not with your mind, don’t think about the emotion, just feel it, what does that feel like? Experience what you feel, some tension, maybe a denseness an ache or a feeling of blockage; simply observe what you feel and let it be. This is a really powerful technique and of course it means that you’ll never have to queue again, you just have opportunities to practice and so go deeper into awareness. It is rare in this “always going somewhere world” to have the chance to stop and simply be in the body; make the most of the queues they are an opportunity for growth and when you do get to the front of the queue remember be present there too.

More from the blog