What are you waiting for?

It's Advent, the name the church gives to that traditional time of waiting between Thanksgiving and Christmas; that time when we're waiting for the relief that comes when the shortest day is over and the light begins its slow return; when children are waiting for school to end and the pleasures of Christmas to begin; when all nature seems to hold its breath in anticipation of the growth and change to come.

Waiting is never an easy space to be in: the frustration with what is can be debilitating, and the battle between hope and fear of what's to come can leave us exhausted. But if we can mark the time, break it into smaller chunks, just get through today, or the next hour, or the next minute or two, it can make this in-between space a bit more bearable. So -- what are you waiting for today? What this photo tells me today is that I seem to be waiting for a break -- however small -- between the close-in daily things that seem to occupy my thinking space; a break that will open up again -- however briefly -- the long cool vista of possibility, so that I can see there is more to life than the desert immediately before my eyes...