getting there
[wednesday’s musings] attention, delays, and what waiting can hold
I enjoy bus rides. They have a different rhythm compared to underground train rides. There’s time to watch the trees pass by, catch glimpses of car models my dad used to point out to me, people-watch, and move from one town to another.
Travelling is a necessity. As long as there’s enough time to spare, to arrive without rushing and to stay safe, the rest unfolds as it does. Instead of worrying if the bus will arrive on time, use the time differently.
An hour with my favourite playlist, a few pages of a book I didn’t get to finish the night before, or even a moment to write on my phone. Sometimes I scroll through my photo album, clearing space I never quite get to even during free time. I pause at old photos, noticing how small moments were actually something meaningful. A sweet memento of how things were at different stages of life.
If I want to be more mindful, I notice how I sit, retreat into a corner of the seat, and take a few quiet breaths without disturbing anyone.
Moments like this allow a kind of awareness to come through. Waiting no longer feels like something to endure. The attention shifts. Something else can come forward in this time instead.
You choose where your attention goes. Shift it to something you can hold differently. That shift in perspective matters. You don’t have to fully accept the delay. Sometimes acceptance takes longer than the delay itself. But attention can move, even when acceptance hasn’t arrived. It might not feel like mindfulness in the traditional sense.
And when that shift happens, the tension eases. The restlessness softens. That, in itself, is already mindfulness in motion. The journey continues, but something changes within it. Even a delay can hold something simple, something unexpectedly gentle. A pause, an interlude, like a quiet interval in between.