What are we waiting for?

As I walked by a public art display of scenes from the ferries in Hong Kong by Lewis Lau my eye was drawn to the following painting. I was struck by its title "Waiting for Nothing".

Most of us don't like waiting and I am certainly no different. Some waiting comes with eager anticipation: for a gift to arrive, for a special holiday, to see a loved one after time apart, for the long winter nights to end and the summer to come, for Christmas morning as a child.

Other waiting comes with anxiety: the results of important exams, feedback on whether you've got that much needed new job, the doctor's diagnosis after medical tests.

Waiting can also be frustrating: for a flight after weather causes mayhem, being stuck in a traffic jam not knowing when it will end, being put on hold on the phone whilst a recorded message tells you, "Please hold the line, your call is very important to us, we apologise for the delay due to an unusually high volume of calls." over and over and over.

So what are we waiting for? It sounds like a call to action rather than inaction, as if waiting is just a waste and sometimes it can be that, waiting can just be procrastination and an excuse not to face our fears or change. We can always be waiting for the "right time" whilst secretly hoping it never arrives.

However waiting is not all bad, some waiting is even beneficial. Waiting at a red stop light not only is the safe and correct thing to do, but at a busy junction actually gets everyone through faster than if everyone tries to go in all directions at the same time. For those of you, especially in Nicaragua, who've ever experienced traffic lights without their power supply connected you'll know exactly what I mean - chaos prevails and you long for the red light that eventually turns green or the arrival of the traffic police.

But what if we are waiting for nothing?