HOW DELAYS AT EALING BROADWAY ARE A GIFT

"We are signing you in - Please wait."

"Your custom is important to us - Please wait while we attend to your request."

"There is a problem with the connection - Please hold."

"We are experiencing a higher than usual demand for this service - Please wait."

"There are two callers ahead of you - Please hold."

"We are being held at the platform for two minutes to regulate the service."

"65 Ealing Broadway: 6 minutes away."

(Take a breath, this may take a while.)

I have a question for my fellow commuters and other London travellers.

Why do we find delays so frustrating?

Is it because we can't spare the time? Or is it because we feel control is being taken from us?

Is it because we feel imposed upon? Or perhaps we value our time so highly?

Let me suggest a different perspective:

Perhaps a delay, such as waiting for a bus, is a gift of time.

Rather than let a delay cause me irritation or anxiety, perhaps I can use the unplanned pause to look and listen, to reconsider, to let those thoughts that have drifted to the dusty corners of my mind to reassert themselves.

I read that one of the 'secrets' of successful people is pausing, making space for latent thoughts to rise to the surface.

I've another suggestion:

Perhaps I can take more of those unasked-for pauses in the day to voice a prayer, in order to ask for God's perspective on my day and to submit it to Him.

I discovered prayersonthemove.com last week:

Short one liners in an app to focus the mind away from the immediate and onto more important things.

One of the prayers quoted Nicholas Sagovsky:

"So many voices all around tell me what to do. Help me to listen to the still small voice of truth." (1 Kings 19:11-12)

You can download the app here.

Unplanned pauses give us time to conspire with our Father in heaven, to seek his wisdom, his truth and guidance, to commit our agendas to Him afresh.

So next time you have some unexpected waiting time thrust upon you, don't fret, just pause.

LIVE IN EALING? WATCH OUT FOR THE U AND U!

Ealing must be one of the best places to live in the world.

It’s got everything! Huge parks, diverse and delicious food, and an incredible local community.

But living in Ealing brings two huge challenges.

1 Watch out for the Urgent

It doesn’t take much time living in London before your perception of time changes, does it?

An 8-minute delay on the Heathrow Connect almost breaks the internet, as the whole of Ealing Broadway leaps onto the TfL website to work out if the Central line would be quicker.

Deep down we all know 8 minutes isn’t a big deal, but it is fun to live life at full throttle. The problem is, a fast-paced life comes with a massive challenge.

Lots of stuff turns out to be urgent when you’re living fast.

Without even realising it, we end up on other people’s agendas. Think about it:

• When was the last time you started a Facebook/WhatsApp message, or do you only ever find yourself replying to others?
• When was the last time you decided, entirely off your own back, to go and apply for a job you wanted, or did you feel you had to leave, or got a call from a recruiter?
• How are you doing on those New Year’s resolutions you set less than a month ago?

Urgent things distract us from what’s important in life.

2 Watch out for the Unimportant

Probably worse than what’s urgent though, is what’s unimportant.

Let me unburden myself of the things that have filled my time so far today:

• Checked Facebook
• Watched a viral video of someone singing on the tube
• Played a game on my phone
• Read opinion pieces on the Academy Awards and the Premier League
• Caught up on one and a half episodes of Jessica Jones on Netflix
• Checked Facebook
• Read the Wikipedia pages for every main character in Jessica Jones
• Tried to get a photo of my coffee cup so the background was blurry
• Checked Facebook

I also have important things in my life; holding down a job so I can afford to live in Ealing, doing my household chores, spending time with my wife, having fun with my kids…

Surprisingly enough, the important things would benefit from us saying ‘no,’ to a couple more of those unimportant bullet points.

Let’s actually do it

Reading this could very easily turn into a waste of time, so let’s commit today to not get distracted by what’s urgent or what’s unimportant!

Tweet to your friends to tell them you’re planning on doing what’s important in 2016 by clicking here!