Waiting has become so much a part of our lives these past two years, and now “waiting for my ship to come in” has taken on a whole new meaning.

Our supply chain has broken, and we are without the things we think we need. We are hoping for the link of the ships, the trucks, the stores and the workers to come together again.

Much of our lives are spent in expectation for something to happen. For the toast to pop, the water to boil, the traffic light to change. You’d think we’d be good at it by now.

Do you remember waiting to grow up? Well, here we are all grown up.

I read somewhere that a copy of the famous painting “Whistler’s Mother” was presented to a group of children, and they were asked what they thought the painting showed. One boy said, “It’s a nice picture of an old lady waiting for the TV repairman.”

We don’t have to be that old person, just waiting. In fact, we don’t have to be old at all. We are the age we are, but “old” is an attitude.

As a mature generation we have a lot to offer the world. Here we are having lived through all of the experiences, emotions and relationships of the past, and we are still evolving. We have faced many things, and we will face many more, and we have come through.

Our wisdom may not be “smarts,” but it is perspective. When faced with challenges — within us, within our relationships or in the world — we can use this length-of-time perspective to bring the joy of living and the usefulness of being alive into our waiting.

Author Barbara Sher wrote, “Whenever you do what you really love, your heart lifts, your mind opens, and everything changes. You wake up. That’s what true adventure really is.”

Let’s make this time of waiting for those ships to arrive an adventure in living.

The Rev. Linda McNamar is a Laguna Woods Village resident.

This post first appeared on ocregister.com

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