Advent - A time of waiting

Recently I read this article on when its okay to sing Christmas Carols. 

Growing up in a non-liturgical church, we always sang Christmas Carols during advent.  I've always thought that Advent was a time to prepare for Christmas.  However, according to this, and it seems to make sense, advent is more about an intense longing for the Savior to come.  As a child, I'm sure that waiting for Christmas was filled with longing.  But it's been a long time since I have felt that way.  I have mostly felt that it always sneaks up on me much too quickly. 
This time of Advent is to remind us of the longing of the people of Israel for a savior.  It is a time of waiting to prepare us for Christ's arrival. 
That got me thinking, how often do I long for something, how often do I wait for something.  I don't.  Our culture is not a culture that supports waiting and patience.  My only examples are my longing for a good camera, which I got this past summer.  And my longing to go back to Maui.  I loved every minute of my time in Maui in 2009, and can't wait to go back, but I have to.  Both of these examples seem quite superficial to me. 
Do I truly long to see God's Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven?  Or are those just words that I pray.  Do I long to see Christ's return, or do I hope that he will wait a while, because life is pretty good right now?  How would my life be different if I was focused on Christ's coming. 

C.S. Lewis once said, Aim for Heaven and you get earth thrown in, Aim for Earth and you get Neither. 

People who live longing to see heaven are the very ones that have the most impact on earth. 
Just a new way (for me at least) to look at this season.