Right now, think of your place in life. Where are you? Who is close to you? But, most importantly, what are you waiting for? I find that so many people (including myself) are constantly waiting for the next step. Eighth graders await high school, 20 year-olds await the big 21, engaged couples await the big day, workers await the day they get to retire, etc. It is rare to see someone holding on to their current life position, afraid of letting go and progressing to the next stage in their life. We all seem so ready, until the day comes and life begins to move so fast right in front of our eyes. Is life just a waiting game for those few inexplicably happy moments until death?
Death is inevitable. Whether you are close or far from it, the end is something we all have to come to terms with. But for most, it isn't haunting or coming to knock on your front door. Young kids are waiting to become adults and are always pushing to make their own decisions and carry out their own life. Rushing through high school doesn't feel like a cheat in life because there is still so much more in the future to look forward to. But, rushing anything is shortening a portion of life. I have been told by an elder that abstaining from soaking up the joys and slumps of high school will be regretted at the end of life. But young kids, like myself, don't understand this. Death isn't a surreal concept at 20. So, waiting and rushing is not thought of in a negative way.
Waiting is apart of the journey and excitement of life. But, no one is ever truly, fully content in the current life that they lead. People are always wanting to grow and fortunately, there is always something to look forward to. The person who stops seeing hope in their future, even in happy times, is one in dire trouble. Is this waiting game something to be troubled by? Are fed up folks who quicken changes and shifts in their lives doing any harm to themselves? That is something you will have to answer for yourself.
Think back on your life and recall your happiest moment so far. Now, think to the future and predict when you will be the happiest. The hardest part to come to terms with is looking into the future and predicting there will be one day when you will feel happier than you have ever felt before. Young adults may have lived decent lives so far, but daydream constantly when they can be the head CEO, get married, or help their parents out. Life becomes a waiting game when people start looking ahead at moments when they reach their goals and dreams. The past is the past, the present is just preparation, but the future is where life really starts.
I cannot differentiate life as a waiting game and life as a dream. These terms can be equivalents to "glass half empty" and "glass half full" metaphors, but are they really differentiated? Life as a waiting game may be one suppressed way of living and life as a dream could be one coping mechanism. But, either way, life is one that awaits a better future. If the future wasn't bright, what's to live for? The future is (thankfully) always bright and everyone has a reason to be waiting one more step until they get to the end. So, either way you look at it, life does always seem to be a waiting game. Each step is a new twist and turn, challenging and exciting. Each step is made to be enjoyable, but without the reason to wait for the next step ahead, life would become boring and hope would be lost.
