What’re You Waiting For?

Most people seek the exceptional event, the peak experience, not realizing that every event is exceptional, from the repulsion of watching the spider spin the beetle in its silk, to going to the john. Every experience is peak. To live in the moment is to be fascinated with what is. It’s to accept everything as a gift. If you’re waiting for God to tap you on the shoulder and set you on fire, guess what? She already has. If you’re waiting on a train of adventure to whisk you away, it ain’t coming. You’re already on the train, and it’s already left the station. If you think you’re watching the previews while you’re waiting for the movie to start, the movie’s already half over.

If you’re waiting on the perfect mate to knock you off your feet, they’ve already come. Life won’t wait a moment for you to catch up. It’s already on to the next thing. It’s come yesterday while you were waiting for tomorrow. It knocked on your door and walked away because you didn’t answer. Or maybe you did open the door, and slammed it shut again because you wanted what was knocking to be something or somebody else. Maybe you wanted them to be dressed differently, or to come with a bag of money and a trophy for World’s Greatest _____________ .

You take what comes. You receive what’s given. That’s life. It’s all a gift. The sad part is that most of us miss the gift because we’re busy waiting for or planning on something else. We miss the breathtaking magnitude of the canyon’s rim. Why? We’re busy feeling sorry for ourselves because it’s raining. We’re looking back into a past that cheated us of the boy or girl we wanted to marry, and we can’t get over our disappointment about its faded promise. We were hoping for wings for Christmas, and got crutches instead. We wanted God and all Her angels to welcome us into paradise, but miss the party they throw for us each and every moment, right here and right now.

Life is like this surprise birthday party you’ve been waiting for your whole life. But you’ve walked in through the wrong door. While you stood in the dark, crestfallen, everybody was yelling SURPRISE! in the house next door. The house that never disappoints, where the party’s always going strong, is what’s right in front of you, who’s right in front of you, right now.

If you open that door, and willingly take what everyone’s standing there holding and offering you as a gift, whether it’s somebody letting you in in traffic or an IRS summons, you’ll never live to have another regret. What’re you waiting for?

© 2025 by Michael C. Just