Being on hold
Ring, Ring Ring
” Hello please stay on the line for the next available operator”
And so the wait begins….
How much time do we spend day to day on the phone and on hold waiting for our party to be reached. How much time do we spend day to day waiting for the next big thing to happen to us and in doing so being on hold with our selves and our futures. We always feel that today is not the day for anything major to happen or that even if anything does happen, it falls short of our spectacular expectation of grandeur. We somehow expect that the heavens will open up and the opportunities or intentions we seek will be presented to us on a silver platter. We fail to recognize the subtle changes that occur on a daily basis that are all part of the whole picture that eventually leads to our goal.
Being on hold is a very tough way to live. Impatience is a symptom of the mind, yet the soul needs this time “on hold” to allow the process to unfold. One might say that staying on hold is necessary to gather ones’ thoughts. It teaches the art of patience and in so doing allow the eventual accomplished goal to be more enjoyable. Once the hold time has been digested the spirit is more apt to move forward with purpose. Many a time we are so impatient that we cannot wait for the text that we have just written to be sent, and frustrated when the reply is not received immediately. We cannot wait for the signal when calling another phone to go into space, hit a satellite and return to earth to the phone of our caller without some sort of thought or verbal irritable response after we hit the send button on our phone. Even the momentary pause before we think and act will give us the time we need to reset the hold moment and become fully engaged when the “hold’ moment is over.
The more connected we are the faster we choose to have our needs met. Imagine what life was like when we used to use “snail” mail letters, the telegram, and these days the soon to be outdated slow fax machine. Unfortunately the “please hold” is becoming obsolete when even the customer service these days on phone calls is fully automatic, in that you either age rapidly while waiting for the never returning human operator or you give up with frustration with the same breath. I enjoy being on hold during a busy day as it forces my restless mind to realize that it has no choice but to stand still, or not complete the call. It is forced to make a choice and in doing so has to take the onus for the choice. Be present or not to be present, that is the question and choice you are asking your mind to make. The more the quiet sets in, and the more present you are while being on hold, you soon realize that the time lapsed is not only minute, yet the space in between if given the chance to unfold is preciously infinite in a positive way. Sometimes the universe gives you these “please stay on the line and hold” moments intentionally so that you can realize the beauty of the ever expansive nature of creation and be in awe of just that, namely the moment.
Here are some exercises to keep You entertained. Try to identify the music pieces that are played during some of these on hold moments. Try to gather your thoughts at these junctures. Try to just breathe and clear your mind during these cross roads of your day. Try to enjoy the passage of time without you in it during these moments. If you must then occupy your mind with another task while you wait on the phone, but know that You are always patiently waiting for your mind, ego, and body to simply catch up. You might realize that after waiting long enough that the person on the other end of your “call on hold” might in fact be just You, what a pleasant thing to find YourSelf in the middle of your day.
Please do not interrupt me, I am on hold.
