Waiting for Life...Waiting for Death

It is a sad thing to watch a young person “waiting for life” to happen to her.  I have seen this phenomenon more than once.   A young person sits on the sofa in front of the television, mindlessly and indiscriminately watching whatever comes on, because she can’t think of anything better to do.  She wanders around the house, or pokes around in the refrigerator, or stares into space, or checks email or snail-mail repeatedly, as though something significant surely must drop in front of her any minute.

At the other end of the continuum is the elderly person whose strength, sight, hearing or mental acuity have failed him.  He sits in his favorite chair staring blankly, nodding off now and then, sighing, and occasionally shifting position ever so slightly.  Perhaps, someone will visit him, and he will rouse from his lethargy for conversation.  Life is passing him by and he is “waiting for death.”  The elderly person may or may not be able to change his circumstance.

The young person is the sadder of the two, because she can change her circumstance and chooses instead to wallow in a bog of mental and physical inactivity.

For goodness sake, get out and DO SOMETHING!!!!

Go for a walk, read a book, start a craft project, clean something, volunteer somewhere….maybe at a nursing home or senior residence that has elderly people “waiting for death.”  There is just no excuse for “waiting for life!”