Instant Gratification

We want it, and we want it now. This instant. It does not matter what it is, we want it now. Instant everything. Instant messages, email, fax, internet. Instant food, the faster the better. Instant education, job, wealth. Instant medical service, diagnoses, and an instant cure. Instant family. Instant travel. Instant information. Instant banking. Instant, instant, instant.

Instant gratification. The need to want something right now, instead of waiting. No longer do we want to wait and see the benefits of hard work, or let life happen and the pieces fall where they may. We, as a society, are impatient, very impatient. We cannot wait for anything. If we expect something, we expect it now. We want things done now, regardless of the circumstances of the situation.

Our society has become one that has drifted towards an expectation of instant gratification. it is everywhere in our society, in places we do not even realize it exists. Instead of sitting down and enjoying a meal, we have drive-thru's. We check everything online, sometimes obsessively. And if that is not enough, we have the internet to tell us everything we want to know at the drop of a hat, instead of working towards finding the answers to our questions. (Books anyone?) In fact, when was the last time you actually picked up a real dictionary? If you are anything like me, it has probably been awhile, a long while. Why go get the dictionary, thumb through it, find the word, and read it, when we can just Google it, or go to one of the many online dictionaries, look it up, and get it instantly?

We want it all at our fingertips, without waiting. We don't have the time to wait. But that is exactly what life is about: waiting. We are always waiting for something. Half of the joy in life is the waiting. So instead of wishing for something to happen now, in this instant, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. It might just be worth the wait.