The Holding Pattern

In aviation, when a pilot cannot land (weather too thick, runway occupied, emergency on the ground) he enters a holding pattern. He flies a racetrack-shaped circuit at a designated altitude, burning fuel at a controlled rate, monitoring instruments, waiting for conditions to change. He is not retreating. He is not advancing. He is sustaining flight until descent becomes survivable.

The pilot in a hold is not doing nothing. He is actively maintaining altitude, resisting the urge to descend into weather that would kill him, buying time with attention. The hold is not passivity. It is controlled waiting.

There is a version of this for every life in crisis.