The Existential Art of Waiting

This video explores the lost art of waiting, especially in terms of reclaiming our existential freedom, as well our ability to endure life's dark mid-nights of the soul... and finally in terms of meditative practice. Here's is a table of contents of the material in this video...
0:22 - Our desire for distraction and immediate gratification
1:17 - The inevitability of waiting
2:40 - The rarity of claiming our existential freedom
3:53 - How we confuse freedom with getting what we want
5:57 - Choosing a mood: Freedom at the level of subjective experience
7:59 - Assuming responsibility for the quality of our lives
9:46 - Why freedom is an acquired taste
11:36 - Waiting through pain and difficulty
12:55 - What sustains us when everything falls away?
13:51 - Meditation: Learning how to wait
14:50 - How to wait for the liberation of your soul

[@maximilianarlt2633]

Your poetic passages really made my heart jump a little :) I also love the strong call to action ... which ironically is waiting in that case. But this precise call to a concrete action is exactly what i also enjoy about Jordan Peterson's Videos as well. Ironically so, as your video was just calling for us to make our own choices and practice freedom. My head hurts now... i probably have to think about this a little longer Thanks for the video nonetheless. There was so much passion in there!

[@ericdodson2644]

Well, thanks so much for hearing all of that, Maxiking IV. I always appreciate when people let me know that they're really hearing what I'm saying. So, I definitely feel gratitude right now for your being willing to do so. Also, I feel gratitude for your being able to take what I'm saying in this video into your heart, and even to let it increase your pulse a little bit. Thanks for being willing to do that. And yes, I definitely AM trying to call you to action.... mostly because the world generally tries to put us to sleep as much as possible. Anyhow, much gratitude. Eric D.

[@alexbuhl1316]

I like waiting. When I walk in on a busy shopowner, I try to look relaxed and understanding, makes interaction that much more gratifying for both. To have been in that role physically or in imagination helps enormously.

[@ericdodson2644]

Well, I'd say that if you genuinely enjoy waiting, you're definitely in the minority (especially if you live in the U.S.)... more power to you on that score! Eric D.

[@stephenpowstinger733]

11:36 waiting through pain and difficulty might be the hardest waiting. Currently experiencing nights of scant sleep waiting for painful stomach pain to subside. One way I kill the time lately has been to watch some of Mr. Dobson's videos. (I know, if one "kills time" that time will be dead). His discussions rekindle my fifty-year-old belief that philosophy of some sort is not "idle speculation" but rather productive and fulfilling. (Even if some thinkers have been shown to have some really bad ideas). I started with Ayn Rand, even seeing her speak once in Boston, but came to see flaws in her logic. Glad to see he is still producing.

[@ericdodson2644]

Well, Stephen, it makes me happy that my videos are helping you to get through a difficult patch in life. The thing about philosophy is that it can be a way of amplifying and deepening life... but on the other hand, we human beings are pretty good at taking the life out of anything in this world, including philosophy. In my view, it's mostly about how we approach philosophy... or anything else in this world, for that matter. In any case, good luck dealing with those stomach problems... Eric D.

[@dominicdiorio]

Another great video by the great Eric Dodson

[@ericdodson2644]

Well, thanks for that, Dominic. And thanks for taking the time to watch it. Eric D.

[@Cosmos_e08]

What a great bless that those videos are available for free!

[@moolalchemy]

Had a major realisation that I wasn't being able to wait for things to happen for me . Then "The Art of Waiting" popped into my head and I searched and found this . Thank you from the bottom of my heart .

[@royprovins7037]

I hate shopping but I enjoyed going to the mall and sitting and watching the people. This is before they closed all the stores because people could instantly shop on their smart phones

[@ericdodson2644]

Well, you're one-up on me, then. I have difficulty dealing with places like malls, mostly because I get over-stimulated. But I guess that we all have our challenges in this life. Anyhow, thanks for watching. Eric D.

[@nua.h2757]

I really need this. Thank you and hope you are well.

[@haikubandit2607]

I'm commenting now Because I can't wait until" I have watched it all 😬

[@ericdodson2644]

Myself, I can't wait... To cultivate more patience One more paradox...

[@demit189]

This was a very nice video. This topic isn't explored much, and you made it very interesting !

[@ericdodson2644]

Well, thanks. And thanks for taking the time to watch & comment. Eric D.

[@SuperAkon10]

Sir, a request/suggestion for the 10minutes series. EMIL CIORAN !!! (Maybe even a one off 20min. or longer video) I believe he hasn’t received his due attention. Also I am unable to find a source anywhere on the internet which is even a little bit satisfying. I am a relatively new subscriber , and I am amazed by your work Sir. Thankyou

[@ericdodson2644]

Well, Ananya, thanks for the suggestion. Some other viewers have been suggesting a video on him, too. So, I'll have to bear it in mind. At this point, I'm thinking of taking up the theme of decadence & asceticism. But we'll see... In any case, thanks for watching & commenting. Eric D.

[@RotaryMotion]

Great content, Always an experience of thought and reason. Well done again Eric!

[@ericdodson2644]

Thanks, UTM. It makes me happy that you're evidently using my videos as an occasion to have an actual experience, rather than just spectating them from afar. Thanks so much for telling me that. Eric D.

[@lcastjr]

Gloria Estefan sings a song that says "what is for you, nobody takes it from you". I think patience is a skill and a triumph.

[@lkjh00on89]

Carry a book and whip it out whenever you are forced to wait. Instantly turns waiting into brain exercise.

[@ericdodson2644]

Yeah, I've always done that, especially in places like airports & doctors' offices, where waiting is pretty much a given. But now I find that places like those are also great places to practice some meditation. To each his own. Anyhow, thanks for watching. Eric D.

[@alexbuhl1316]

If you're ever stuck in traffic, find a map, physical or virtual and come up with the history of the places around you based on name alone :D I've found the literal "Origin", a "Fishmarket" in village form and "Miners Luck" in old, old Germanic.

[@ericdodson2644]

Yeah, you can definitely do that. I remember that as a child I'd play with the Rand McNally map a lot during long trips (before things like smart-phones, portable music-players, etc.). Eric D.

[@docjohnson2874]

As I watch more of your videos, I sense a larger project....that of the teacher/sensei/roshi.....no saffron robes, bald head or obscure koans but rather more like the narrative stories of the Tibetans .....in a modern venue......I like it

[@ericdodson2644]

Well, thanks, DJ, for saying that. But to be honest, I really feel more like just another wanderer in this world... just another lost soul trying to make sense of things, and trying to make some sort of worthwhile contribution along the way. Somehow "sensei" or "roshi" seems pretty far above my pay-grade. But thanks for saying so anyhow. Eric D.

[@fibonacci3138]

'the experience of waiting has value becaue the annoyance of it can push us towards recognising the reality of our addictive attachments and dependencies'

[@paramtapkaushal2292]

8:58, but the fact that I'm stuck in that moment is the problem!

[@paramtapkaushal2292]

15:35 the present!👁️ But I cannot really do the maybes after that

[@TrollJohnSmith]

Eric, have you considered composing these essays into a book of sorts? I'd love to have them on paper.

[@John-lf3xf]

We always want to be occupied by something immediately gratifying. We want to be in something instead of in some sense just being in a non ‘exciting’ way...

[@nosnik6138]

Nice video as always, I think it's fair to assume what side of the free will debate you are on. On an unrelated note, stoicism might be an interesting topic to do a video on.

[@ericdodson2644]

Yeah, I'm pretty much lifting a lot of the stuff in this video from Sartre's Being and Nothingness. And yes, I keep toying with the idea of doing one on Stoicism -- maybe on Marcus Aurelius's meditations. Anyhow, thanks for taking the time to watch & comment. Eric D.

[@alexbuhl1316]

Have you ever stood still in a sliver of sunlight found between the tall shadows of the city? Tried to lure a butterfly onto your finger no matter how unlikely? Picked wild rosemary and just ate it? Be spontaneous. Feels good :)

[@ericdodson2644]

Well, personally I've tried many similar things. It seems to me that every moment has its own particular shadow, its own special butterfly, and its own wild rosemary. But that's just me. In any case, thanks once again for watching & commenting. Eric D.

[@somnathdash4428]

Right now, I'm wearing the same shirt as you are.

[@John-lf3xf]

This is why you carry a book with you everywhere, or just do some impromptu meditation.

[@scottsheffield6474]

You can't read a book in a traffic jam :/ Or in line buying shoes; that would look really weird to the modern herd.

[@paramtapkaushal2292]

Everything, even a mother's womb is a prison/boundary/border, which can be broken

[@mac2phin]

Mr. Dodson, I wish you would address how you are NOT an existentialist. Why is it that you do not consider yourself one?

[@paramtapkaushal2292]

0:00 hard hitter

[@j.ariley9043]

Waiting For Godot

[@ericdodson2644]

Nice reference... and thanks for watching & commenting. Eric D.

[@paramtapkaushal2292]

7:21 but that actually doesn't work when you're hungry

[@Monster_Mover_Stocks]

What's this "tax refund" you speak of? lol

[@ericdodson2644]

Umm... I haven't done my taxes yet... so I may be living in the past with that one. Anyhow, good to hear from you, TVAC. Eric D.

[@aaronsmyth7943]

Serial killer material. 100%

[@paramtapkaushal2292]

12:02 that's Machiavelli soeaking right there.... See I was right as a kid, dead people live through words spoken by other people

[@Fuzzy8501]

Rebellion - Reconsidered? :) Love your videos.