Step Four - Stop Waiting

"Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite. Or waiting around for Friday night or waiting perhaps for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil or a better break or a string of pearls or a pair of pants or a wig with curls or another chance. Everyone is just waiting." - Dr. Seuss

As a child, I read many a Dr. Seuss book. Most were peppered with rhymes that tickled the tongue and brought laughter to my childhood. However, as I get older, I find many quotes of Dr. Seuss that sort of catch me off guard and make me think about my life. This, I was not expecting. The quote above can relate to several situations, but I think it relates most to life as a whole. If you think about it, we do spend a lot of time waiting. Waiting for the computer to process, in line at the grocery store, in a traffic jam, for that perfect someone to come along, for that test result, for someone else to make a change in your life, or even, unfortunately, to die. The problem is, sometimes we are waiting for so long and for so much that we forget to live during the periods where we are not specifically waiting for something.

For quite a while now, but mostly more recently, I have been trying to really focus on practicing the cliche, "Live in the moment." It may sound hokey, but try the following sometime. When you are with a group of people, or even a person, that you love (in any capacity), make yourself have a sort of out-of-body experience and really soak in the moment. Let it saturate your soul. Science has shown that the amygdala is the part of the brain where emotional memories are stored. Fill it up. Do not wait for someone else in the moment to tell you to. Once you get this down, take it one step further. When you are out in this crazy world (solo or not), let your cerebral cortex enjoy and "record" the details of every beautiful entity this Earth has to offer. No, you do not need to be "high" on anything to do this. I learned at a very young age that we should appreciate every day that we are given. It is harder than it sounds. You will not regret doing it, or at least trying.

Do not wait for a vacation to soak in the moment, or for a romantic rendezvous. Yes, we are all waiting at all times for something. But in that instant when you are not thinking about waiting for something, when you are just enjoying being alive, really absorb every ounce of that fraction of your time. You have to make a conscious effort. It usually does not just happen naturally. There is so much out there to appreciate. There is also so much out there to do. That is one of the hardest parts when it comes to not waiting.

Do no wait to take action (in general). Do not hold off on telling her you love her, having an intimate conversation with an elderly grandparent, telling your friend how special she is, thanking your parents for caring, doing that little something to make someone's day extra special, taking that last-minute trip to visit an old friend, and so on. By not waiting, you will find yourself in more moments that you will want to remember. Do this, because one day, you will run out of time. One day you might say to yourself, "If only I didn't spend all of my time waiting." Sometimes life is not fair and it ends too short. Do something about it while you still can. Make it fair. Stop waiting.