Waiting is an invitation into noticing - noticing all of the little details that get forgotten when life is busy, and we're rushing from one thing to the next. Waiting invites us to be still and listen. In that stillness, we may hear the creek of the neighbor’s stairs in the townhome next door. We may notice how quickly we get bored a little bit more than before. And we also start to notice the precise moment where the sun rises. The precise moment where light filters through. The leaves on the tree across the street, and how each color, yellow and green, dance their way into noon.

In the waiting, we notice that we're not the only ones waiting. We're not the only ones walking a little slower, looking around, noticing the little things that get so easily forgotten. All around us, there are other people and animals too - engaging and experiencing the same things that we're seeing. Even when it seems like much of the world is rushing from place to place, from space to space - there are still all of these other people who are waiting just like us.

There are all of these other people who are learning to look closely at their relationship with solitude and silence. What matters is that we know we are not the only ones waiting. We are not the only ones turning our face to the window for any little flicker of light that reminds us we are loved and we are seen.

So the next time you turn to the sun, or you feel the wind blowing around you: know, in that moment, someone else is feeling that too. You may never meet this person or speak to this person. But you can imagine: what do they look like? What are they waiting for? What chapter are they in, in their story? Why are they noticing the wind today? What about this particular sunrise caught their attention?

Even when we don't know each other, we can hope for the best for one another in the waiting. We can smile at the possibility that maybe someone who is just walking down the street is finally getting that fresh air that they've been needing. Maybe that car that drives by just like every other car is a car that holds someone who has a story, who's on their way to a new chapter in that story. Someone who is trying to make the most of the waiting.

I hope today that your imagination can take you to a hopeful place. A place where you imagine a better present and a better future, not only for yourself, but for those around you. We may never know the ins and outs and details of the stories of people that we cross every day. But we can trust that far beyond what we see, new connections are being made. We are all in this together, learning to make the most of the wait.

Journal: Listen for a car outside or the sound of someone speaking not too far away, and ask yourself: what beautiful thing do you hope happens in their life today?

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