待つということThe Art of Waiting(TIME誌)/エッセイを書きました！

今回は、待つことがテーマです。art とありますが、芸術ではありません。この　artは方法という意味です。待てば海路の日和あり　All things come to those who wait.　と諺にありますが、テクノロジーの発達もあり、待つのが難しい社会となりつつあります。待つとは何か、人生に、そして人間性に対して、どのように影響を与えるかなど、深く考えさせる記事です。

TIME誌からの記事で、教室でも、読んで頂いております。毎回、宿題としてお渡ししている紙に、こちらから英語で質問を書いており、読みながら、考察を深めてもらえるようにしております。

今回も、記事の内容を、かみ砕いてご紹介しつつ、レッスンでのやりとりや、他の生徒さんの体験談（大阪万博）や、待つことが苦手である私のこと等を、英語でエッセイとして書いております。後ろに日本語でも、書いておりますので、ぜひお読みください。

The art of waiting

By Toshihiro Kimura

The art of waiting

Pay more to wait less

There is an article we read in our lessons about the importance of waiting. What is important about waiting in line? The author shows an example of people's impatience at airports. Some airlines have special services where people pay to get on the planes faster than others. Many passengers don't want to wait patiently, so they are glad to pay an additional fee if they don't have to wait so long.

When there is a long line of people

It is frustrating to wait in line. I don't want to wait in line. I usually avoid lines. I feel nervous when I see a long line of people. One student said in our English lesson that when she sees a long line of people in front of restaurants, she gets interested in what makes the restaurants so popular. So she joins the line to find out why the restaurants attract so many people.

The author of this article thinks there is pleasure in waiting. It is called "delayed gratification". It means you feel happier when you wait longer.

The longer you wait ….

Let's think of some examples of delayed gratification. If you are a concert-goer, you must be excited about going to a concert. You are excited to see the musicians on stage. The concert itself must be exciting. But the process of waiting, waiting for the concert, and the anticipation for the concert will make the concert really exciting.

You wait excitedly for the events.

I am not a concert-goer, but when I was a child, I loved watching movies on TV. At the end of the show, they tell you what movie we will see the next week. I couldn't wait till the next week. I really looked forward to the movies next week. You may enjoy concerts or movies. But you also enjoy the time you wait until what you are waiting for will come to you.

How many times did she go to the Expo?

We had English lessons in a community center this week. One woman in her 70's talked about how much she enjoyed going to the Expo in Osaka. She went to the Expo as many as 15 times. She said she had a wonderful time there. She enjoyed learning about many different countries, their cultures and traditions. She went to pavillions from various countries. She had to wait in a long line to get inside some of the pavillions. She said she was lucky, because it took her only 40 minutes to see the famous Italian sculpture, the statue of Atlas, while many other people waited for more that 5 hours to see the Italian stature closer to the end of the Expo. Waiting in line, waiting in anticipation made her time in the Expo a special one. She said everything was great about the Expo, though the food was really expensive. She enjoyed a meal in the Spanish Pavillion, but almost every time she had to bring rice balls for lunch to save time and money, which seemed to be the case with many other people. Anyway, she had a lot of fun there.

What's the rush? Do we really want them that fast?

We all know that waiting will make us happier. The longer we wait, the happier you will be. But in this fast-paced society, everything goes fast. People walk fast and work fast. We are always on the move. We try to do things faster than anyone else. What's the rush? The author talks about Amazon as an example. They provide great services. What you order online will come to your home today or tomorrow. That's pretty fast. But some of you may wonder if you really want your order delivered that soon. Faster deliveries will put a lot of pressuer on truck drivers and keep them busy all the time, as the media often talks about that. The author wants us to think again if we really need something that fast. We try to get everything faster, but at what cost? What do we get? What do we lose?

Our humanity is at risk

The author emphasizes the importance of waiting. The author goes on to explain that we are losing our humanity when we lose our capacity to wait. What does it mean? Humanity means to be kind to others. Humanity means kindness, respect and sympathy toward others, as a dictionary says. It is the opposite of being selfish. If our society goes on like this, we become more and more impatient. We will lose our patience to wait. It seems to be that we are in some competion or something. We may lose our humanity in the end.

The author describes this situation as "a world on steroids". Steroids are basically drugs used to treat inflammation and allergies. But it is illegal if they are used on athletes or even race horses to improve their performance in competitions. Probably the author wants to say that we are always busy and we have too many things to do. We are in a hurry both at work and in our private lives. Why don't we slow down a bit!

It takes patience (or love)

In life, we need to wait for many things. To grow plants and flowers, you need to wait patiently until they grow well. The same is true for raising children, teaching students, working with others and in many other relationships. Nothing goes well without patience. Isn't that about love pahaps? Love is patient. Love is kind, as the Bible says.

I personally don't like to wait in line. I don't like to go to crowded restaurants. But if it helps to preserve our humanity, maybe I would change my mind and join the line, especially if I am unbearably hungry!

待てない社会

空港で、追加料金を支払えば、誰よりも早く、飛行機に搭乗できる、そんなサービスが出てきていますが、そんなに急いで、どうするの、という感じで、著者はそういった社会の風潮に警鐘を鳴らします。

待つのが苦手

レッスンで記事を読んだ生徒さんの中には、待つことを別に何とも思わない方もいて、昼食時など、列ができていると、並んでみたくなるとのこと。私などは、並ぶのが嫌で、列を極力避けたい方で、混んだ場所も苦手です。

いずれにしても、並ぶのは大変ですが、著者は、待つことの意義、大切さを説きます。記事では、delayed gratification という語が見られ、delay が遅れた、gratificationが喜びということで、要するに、待った方が、喜びが大きいということです。

待つほどに、膨らむ期待

delayed gratification の例を考えましょう。記事を読みながら、読むだけではく、必ず自分の頭で、例えばどういうことかと、具体的に考えることが、大切です。例えば、コンサートに行く人ならば、コンサート会場で盛り上がることは、当然ですが、そこに至るまでの、待つ状態で、期待が膨らみ、その期待こそが、コンサートを楽しませる、要因だと、いうことなのでしょう。

他にも、私は、特に　concert- goer ではないですが、幼い時、いつもテレビで洋画を楽しみにしており、予告を見ては、次の週の映画を心待ちにしていました。

万博に１５回？

待つというと、関西万博でも、長蛇の列が話題でしたが、今週のレッスンで、ある方は、関西万博に、１５回も行かれたと、お話になりました。各国の文化に触れて、すごく勉強になったとのことです。長蛇の列で待つことも、多かったようですが、待つゆえに、期待も高まり、より一層楽しめたのだと思います。スペインパビリオンでの食事以外は毎回おにぎり持参で節約しつつ、万博を満喫されたと、英語で頑張って説明をして頂きました。

さて、記事の話に戻ります。世の中には、色々なサービスがありますが、何でも早ければいいのか。そうでもないのでしょう。今日注文したら、明日には届く。便利ですが、どうなのでしょうか、ということです。