Waiting on a Friend

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First of all, this may be my favorite project this year. So what if we’re only 38 days in? It’s still worth mentioning.

Anyway, part of what made it so fun was that my inspiration was a shot taken by Stuart Shafran, in London, which can be seen via THIS LINK.

Since the black and white version was void of color, I thought it would be interesting to go with the opposite, using bold and bright colors that are (hopefully) reminiscent of a colorful town on some warm, tropical island.

It looked to me like the woman in London was enjoying sun on her face, but my finished illustration looks more like she is waiting for something – or someone – hence the title “Waiting on a Friend,” something I also borrowed (thank you Mick Jagger).

I have to wonder when her friend will show up. Is he or she late? And is this woman in waiting feeling calm inside… waiting patiently? Or is she tensed up, thinking that if her friend doesn’t show soon she’ll just bail?

All this wondering led me to think about checking in on my thoughts about my word for 2024. Patience. Again, we’re only on day 38… so not much has changed.

I found something interesting though. An article in Psychology Today mentioned different kinds of impatience, and the author referenced one particular form of impatience as being “an adaptive syndrome.”

It describes this impatience as this: First, we start out with a goal. Second, we accept that there are certain costs to reach our goal. Third, we learn that it’s going to cost us more than we thought to reach our goal. Lastly, we start looking for ways to avoid having to pay those extra costs.

I read this, and all I could say was “didn’t I just say this two weeks ago?” Not the same words, but the same concept. If my goals are going to cost me more than I had anticipated (mainly time), I start looking for ways to avoid having to pay them (or spend that time)… or I simply bail.

So.. as it turns out… it would appear that the impatience I suffer from the most is an adaptive syndrome. Who knew?! Hmmm… I wonder if that goes for failed relationships as well. Don’t worry, I’m not going there. Not today!

Anyway, I think that’s about all for now. Thanks for reading and checking out my illustration! I hope you enjoyed! And a big thanks to Stuart for allowing me to use his photograph for my work.

Until next time,
Peace & Love!

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(FYI: Here’s a LINK to the article I mentioned)