Being On Hold

By Rev. Amari Magdalena

We’ve all experienced being on hold.  Terminal “push this push that” to get a real person phone calls can be unnerving. Waiting for an appointment with a doctor.  Standing in long lines anywhere. Awaiting a visitor or event that is not on schedule.  We are presented with myriad ways of what we might deem wastes of our previous time that sorely test our patience.

Usually, I will get busy doing something else until the person or event resolves itself.  Often though I’m hung up ostensibly ‘on call’ for business.  It feels like “Waiting for Godot” the famous play on the theme of unresolved waiting for an imaginary person who is not coming; as life flashes by.

I might compare this to the waxing and waning natural rhythms of our celestial bodies the sun and moon.  In waxing periods, we may experience bursts of energy. In waning cycles, we may reach a place I call “the betweens.”  In those times of little overt happenings, we may feel that not as much is working in our lives.

Perhaps our frustration levels rise.  We might feel these times are a waste. For me, this is when I move into “Mental Traveler” mode or daydream.  If I can remove myself from the frustration of waiting, I can enjoy a whole canopy of imaginings in my mind.  It’s perhaps a little active dreaming that I do to keep my mind active and reduce the overt negative judgment of being on hold.  In shamanism we might call it journeying though most likely it is a middle world journey with more conscious awareness than the usual other world journeys.

However, we navigate being on hold, our mental state will remain a lot more positive if we develop strategies for doing something else while we wait–mentally or physically.  Time here on the earth plane is indeed precious.  It is important for our wellbeing that we appreciate the gift.  Thus alternative ways of relating to the betweens can create a win/win situation for us so that we are able to feel good about such times.

Queuing up a beautiful landscape travel or meditation video may be one successful strategy if the hold time is related to a computer.  Playing some music on our headphones may be a good hold strategy for phone calls rather than listening to jarring and/or repetitive hold music.  Changing our visual focus to the outdoors may be useful as the horizon tends to, for me, hold the promise of what is around the next bend or curve of life.  Whatever helps with even breathing and less stress breath-holding and rising anger, can make our lives feel so much clearer in the moments.

And, last resort, whatever is keeping us on hold for more than a reasonable time, we can hang up or just go out and enjoy our lives.  For those people who tend to hang us up, going out and enjoying our lives may give them an important lesson in respect for the time of others.

 

Release the holds that you can and improve your passages of time with the ones that require your time to get something important accomplished. Say goodbye to those persons or situations that unnecessarily detain, confine and restrain your energy.  If you can’t end the relationship, create appropriate boundaries. However, you find your way to coping with being on hold, choose to set yourself free.  We’ve one wondrous life, for sure.  Enjoy it and find a bright spot to focus on when you find yourself next on hold!

[53 Past Blogs are in my book "Shaman Talk" available in softcover and ebook on Amazon.com]