wait for signs of improvement, and ultimately we wait for a complete recovery. At the same time, however, we discover that there are very different forms of waiting. When the time is not filled with a meaningful presence, waiting becomes unbearable. When the present moment remains completely empty—when all we can do is to look for something to come, and there is nothing at all in the here and now—every second is too long. And waiting is an intolerable burden when it remains completely uncertain whether