Lyric discussion by Heulengeist 

Cover art for Wasting Time lyrics by Collective Soul

I offer a different meaning.

I believe it is about a relationship. For whatever reason, things are not going well with it anymore. Maybe they don't talk about it or are unwilling to break up. This is from one member of the relationship to the other. This isn't exactly what happened to me, but I can apply it.

I could see my girlfriend wasn't happy and that she was holding it in. No matter how much she held it in, the things she did reflected that unhappiness and growing dislike for me. It hurt me so much to see that and I wanted the pain to end. If we kept on like that she was bound to hate me and that would lead me to hate her. She had hopes, dreams, plans for us. Things we would do soon, and things we would do as we grew older together. Those dreams never came to be and she felt they never would. She began to think she needed out of our relationship. We both didn't want the relationship to end. Beyond all that was wrong, we loved each other so deeply that the thought of ending it was horribly painful. I knew it had to end. I didn't want to offer promises that things would get better. They might, but things were already ruined. I didn't want us to hold onto memories of the good times we had and how close we used to be. We were past that. Since I was unwilling to end the relationship (maybe I am a coward or something. I just couldn't bear walking away), I had to tell her to leave. She needed to end the relationship, to move on with her life and leave me behind. Staying with me would just waste her time, her energy, her effort, her life.

As I said, not exactly what happened to me, but close enough.