Waiting

Waiting for Godot.  I have never known whether to laugh or cry at the play. The simple story is about an absurd conversation between two people, Gogo and Didi, who wait for their friend Godot to arrive.  Daily they meet in the place under a tree where Godot said he would meet them, only to find that he never comes.  Still they wait.

Is tragic to watch the terrible waste of two lives. The only thing that could have made Samuel Beckett’s play even more terrifying would be if Kafka wrote it.

The play reminds me of the horror I once felt when I learned that people sleep away 1/3 of their lives.  Then I reconsidered: If we were to efficiently use the rest of our waking hours efficiently, the scant third spent sleeping would be labeled as productive.  

Beckett’s characters represent humanity, us.  Our physical demands occupy a huge segment of our precious allotment of time. We have to work in order to eat which brings with it all sorts of unwanted aggravation. We have to pay the bills. The budget needs balancing.  The house requires attention.  The needs of our family are paramount which means shopping, consoling, loving, car payments, doctors appointments, cleaning house and being sympathetic to troubled times and friends.  Time becomes so fragmented that our actual productive time is negligible, leading us to wonder if we are wasting our lives.  

When we meet I will ask, “How are you?” Sometimes the response is, “I am tired” or “I am so busy!” or “It seems I have less time than ever before.”  I think of Waiting for Godot.  

Awful visions are conjured up, of regrets piled high, of years frittered away. What portion of our life will have been well spent? Waiting for Godot can be a long process, as long as waiting for the Messiah.

The Fall will soon be upon us with the High Holy Days, school reopening and all the demands of the New Year. Many of our members have been involved with changing the face Columbia with me. I will ask you again to become a partner in continuing this powerful process through the good works of MORE Justice.  New beginnings.  Finishing old business.  

In the meanwhile I have a suggestion: Maybe this summer we can begin to worry less over the hardening of the arteries and work related problems and more about whether we make time to play in the sun. Remember the summers of your youth. Take a trip. Listen to some music.  Let your feet lead you into a dance with someone you love. Wander in the woods.  Walk on the beach and skip rocks.  Take time to breathe, live, pray and be home.

Sweet is the light and it is good

For the eyes to see the sun.

For if a person lives many years,

Let him rejoice in them all.  -Ecclesiastes