Your day off is packed with appointments. The doctor, the hairdresser, a meeting with your child’s teacher. . . Exhaustion overcomes you but there’s no time for a coffee break or a nap. Maintaining control of your temper is becoming a real challenge.
Fidgeting in your seat in the doctor’s office, fifteen minutes after your scheduled time of appointment, seething with anger – at the office staff, the stress of your job, the modern world for being so demanding . . . suddenly it dawns upon you . . . this could be the bit of “me time” you’ve been longing for.
I came to such a realization when I recently found myself in a similar situation. Since then I’ve actually learned to relax while awaiting my turn for appointments.
If I’ve remembered to take along a book, I catch up with a few chapters of the story until my name is called.
If I’ve forgotten my favorite read, and the office doesn’t offer a magazine containing intriguing articles to enlighten my brain with things I might not otherwise have learned, I use the moments for meditation. I close my eyes or simply gaze at the sky outside, the lamp across the room, whatever helps me release stress.
The important thing is that I refrain from fretting. I’ve ceased feeding into the stress of the situation. This simple change of focus has contributed immensely to my sense of well-being on many occasions.
Next time you find yourself seated in a waiting room, try this attitude for yourself. Focus on the fact that there’s nothing you can do to change the situation, so you may as well consider the moments as a gift from the universe.
Pick up a magazine and savor the shades of the photos. Learn something new that may benefit you. Use the moment as a mini meditation session.
Do something, or do nothing . . . whichever will bring you the greatest sense of serenity on that day.
Then, after your name has been called, your appointment completed, you can take on the rest of the day, secure in the fact that you’ve cheated time – stolen a few moments just for you.
I’m actually looking forward to my dentist appointment tomorrow, hoping the waiting room will be full so I can enjoy a few moments of guilt free “me time”.