Project Love: Day #25

Waiting for Love
In this world of quick fixes and convenience, patience seems to be an old fashioned idea. I am even kind of ashamed to admit that I have fallen prey to this instant gratification society that we live in. I want everything and I want it now. But what I find ironic in the realm of patience, is that I tend to spend so much time trying to make it a priority when it comes to my kids, but not so much so as it relates to my life. In fact, I strongly encourage it where my kids are concerned. I often talk to them about sharing with each other, waiting in line for their turn and saving their money instead of wanting to spend it every time they get any in their grubby little hands. But I can talk about it until I’m blue in the face, and still seem to get nowhere.

I find myself not only lacking patience in my day to day life but also in my love life. It’s so hard to try to figure out a way to describe this kind of patience. I once heard an analogy about comparing finding love to someone waiting for a bus. (for the life of me cannot remember where I read this analogy, so if you are reading this and you know where it came from, please comment below and I will edit with proper credit)

Analogy:

There you are standing at the bus stop, anxiously awaiting the next bus going in your direction. The bus slowly approaches and comes to a halt. You hop on the bus and think to yourself, “oh, it’s so full, no more seats available, I guess I will just wait for the next one.” So you decide to get off the bus and wait for the arrival of the next available one.

The second bus pulls up, with a dirty exterior, shabby windows, and smoke coming out of the tail pipe (is that even what it’s called?). You immediately think to yourself, “ewww, this bus is so old and shabby! I’m not confident it can get me to my destination. I think I will wait for another one.” So you let the second bus pass you by.

The third bus pulls up, you hop on, it’s not crowded at all, but it doesn’t have air conditioning and air conditioning is very important in the summer heat. So yet again, you convince yourself that bus number three is not right for you either.

Then suddenly the sky turns dark and thunder rumbles over head. It’s getting late, and you don’t want to stand in the rain. You panic and jump on the next bus that comes your way. Only it doesn’t take you long to realize that you stepped on the wrong bus. You analyze the situation and realize that you have wasted your time and energy waiting for the right bus, or waiting for what you want. But here’s the thing, even if an air conditioned bus comes your way, you can’t always be sure that it won’t break down or that the air conditioner will be cold enough.

My experience with the “bus” usually goes something like this. I see the most beautiful, perfect bus headed down the street. I put on a pair of tight jeans, stick out my chest, bat my eyes, put on my prettiest smile and try to flag the beautiful bus down. But the driver acts as if he did not see me and zooms past me. Obviously, this bus wasn’t meant for me. But I digress.

Bottom line is this, finding the perfect partner to love is like waiting for the bus you want. Getting on the bus and appreciating the bus by giving it a chance depends totally on you. And don’t forget you always have an option to walk. The good thing about walking is that you can always choose to ride the bus if you want. With that said, here is something to look out for when choosing the right bus. I have found, especially as of late, that sometimes choosing a bus that you are already familiar with may suit your needs better than searching for the one perfect bus that you have yet to try. And that’s not always smart.

You may be thinking, “Julie, if you could choose the PERFECT bus, what kind of bus would you choose?” Am I right? You all were thinking that, weren’t you? Well if not, at least you are now! To answer your question, I am looking for the bus that just pulls up, stops on its own and asks me to join him for the ride of a lifetime. And by “ride of a lifetime” I mean the journey through life, not what you all were originally thinking. Get your heads out of the gutter people! This is a family friendly site!

Anywho…I leave you with this, always remember you never lose by loving, you only lose when you hold back.

Love is a Battlefield.