Hope and wait. Do I mean 'or'?

As of late I have beginning to realize how different hoping and waiting are from each other. If I crash land on an island, what is the first thing I do? I put a message in a bottle hoping that the currents take it to a put where someone can get it and then come get me, of course...(not really) but then what next? Do I sit and wait for that person to come OR do I hope someone finds it and go start building my shelter? I think that so many people send something out there to someone, some job, some lottery, or something else and then wait. They put their life on hold for that one thing to return. I am beginning to feel that unless you are throwing feathers at the wind, then waiting is worthless. What if it never returns or if you miss much more valuable things while you are waiting. In the case of me on the island, what if I die waiting? (Now, to catch all the thoughts that are running in the opposite direction before they become extreme.)
I am not saying that I do not look forward to things. I definitely hope that someone finds the bottle and then ultimately finds me soon after. I even become excited when that thing does return or produces fruit. In the meantime though, I will not sit and wait. There are other things that are to be done.
If you have read my past posts about time and such then this next section will not come of any surprise to you. Since time is relative, to some people is seems slower and to others it seems faster. This even fluctuates throughout your life or even throughout the day. The majority of the days when I am thinking about a lot of things seem to be 48 hours long. Time seems to slow down. This is compounded when I am waiting in anticipation of something. This is where the saying, "slower than Christmas" comes from. To continue with my analogy, not only would I not get anything done, but it would seem longer for me to be rescued. Perhaps I might even go insane, because I have begun to feel this effect when waiting on a girl I liked to call me back. =p
So throw the bottle out and hope for a response. When you get that response, it could be the highlight of your day or week or life. The importance of that moment is not diminished what-so-ever by hoping instead of waiting.