When was the last time you had to stop what you were doing and wait? Was it for an elevator door to open? A microwave to let you know your dinner was warm and ready? From the start of time, waiting has been part of the human experience. What’s really changed is how we wait.

Waiting today rarely looks like waiting at all. We check our phones, send a text, read a headline, and multitask through any potentially idle moment.

As we can see here, waiting has not always been this way. Viewing these women together on the street, left to wait on a bus to carry them to their next destination, we might be able to learn something. Sure, they could share some chatter with each other but the space between them, the tilt of an exhausted heel, and the upward glances paint a picture of women simply embracing a pause from life’s normal pace. They don’t fight the wait, they welcome it.

Waiting, it’s more than wasted time. It is an invitation to the uncomfortable but meaningful experience of sitting with thoughts that are entirely our own. In order to create our best works, waiting is often the missing element for success. Taking time to ponder, think, and mentally create from the resources within us, undiluted by all the buzzing around us helps us capture authentic ideas in our writing, picture taking, and any other piece of work we are asked to produce. No amount of rushing, pushing ahead, or grasping for success can replace the opportunities that build when sometimes we simply wait. It might just be time we take a step back, and embrace the lost art of the wait once again.