The Art of Waiting (and it's use in elevators!)

Acting can be called the art of waiting and then reacting. I am good at waiting; whether it is waiting at the traffic signal or waiting for a friend at a bus-stop. I am sure (in fact I bet) all of us have waited for a fair portion of our lives when those seconds are added cumulatively.

There is in fact a strange joy and sense of impending excitement in waiting. So many times when I'm waiting at the traffic signal (which happens a lot in Bangalore) I observe the surrounding with an entirely new perspective. A lot many times the stillness of a traffic signal instills unknown corners of my mind.

Instead of honking or cursing the driver in front of me I decide to wait for the light to turn green (which eventually and always happens). Somehow this waiting time manages to give  a chance for random thoughts to blossom. A melody or a line or a revelation is common for me at the signal!

I wonder what is it about waiting that is providing such fertile grounds to imagination. Ain't the answer simple? Maybe it is, here are couple of the reasons I see:

-I am letting go of my thoughts and not holding them. 
-I am being patient and letting thoughts wander around.

Now connecting this loose end of my post to what I said in the beginning about acting. Almost all actors have described acting as first and foremost as the art of listening. Isn't listening in a way waiting for other to finish and at the same time focusing on his/her words? It's being patient with the other person.

It's about time to extract a "practical" advice from all this blathering I've done so far - next time you're rushing to enter the elevator, just wait for others to get out and then get in please! Don't rush, waiting isn't bad for who knows when the lightening would strike. 

Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.

Carl Sagan