Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Reaction to Henri Nouwen’s quote
I would definitely agree with the first half of Henri Nouwen’s quote about waiting. Today, our society is structured in a way that is based around productivity and getting the most out of every day. If there is a person who is waiting on somebody else, then they are not being productive with their time. They could be spending their time working on other projects or assignments. However, there are many times when people are forced to wait. If somebody is stuck in a traffic jam on the way to work or on a lunch break, there is little that they can do to get themselves out of it. Then people generally tend to get worked up about it even though they are helpless. A traffic jam is a perfect example of what Henri is talking about when he says “waiting is an awful desert between where they are and where they want to go. And people do not like such a place. They want to get out of it by doing something.” The phrase “time is money” comes into play and that is what it comes down to. People want to be on their own clock and not depending on somebody else’s schedule.