cthewind's Blog

Several years ago I gave a talk titled, “Waitfulness.” I’m not sure what exactly occasioned it, except for that I had been reading a taxonomy of boredom.[1]

Boredom is the ultimate in waiting: there’s nothing to do.

In German the word for boredom is langeweile, which means “long while” or “long time.” When you’re bored or waiting, time stretches. It gets long. It drags, takes forever, leads the best of us to plead, “Are we there yet?”

Sometimes, “Are we there yet?” is the best we can offer. Other times, our questions get deeper and more interesting, leading us closer to the essence of our being, which in turn connects us more thoroughly in the world. The nothing of boredom yields to the no-thingness of being, and, provided you choose the good possibilities of nihilism, being reminded you are not a thing is really freeing.

In other words, waiting with nothing to do can open up the space for insight, expansiveness, even play.

Recently a friend shared with me something she’d heard from another friend we have in common: an invitation to see in the question mark of waiting a protective hollow, a tender cushion to shield you—for a time—from the harshness of an exclamation mark or a full stop.

Cradled in the question mark, you are summoned to fullness in waiting. All the powers of your being are concentrating here, and the condensation of your strength of being is utterly astounding.

[1] If you’re up for it, check out Fundamental Concepts of Metaphysics (1935), by Martin Heidegger.