21. Patience is a skill, a practice and a gift. It is a breeze of acceptance that may descend upon us in moments of stress or can be a personal quality we are born with. Either way, patience at its best must be evoked and actively used by both heart and mind. Most of us at heart, want to have patience. We try. We try in traffic, we try while standing in lines at the grocery store when we are late and agitated. We try to have patience with our spouses and families, with life in general. We try to have patience waiting for things to change. The gateway to achieving patience is to guide our thoughts into the moment, ground ourselves in our bodies, acknowledge our stress, our vulnerabilities and then release them. When we practice this technique of awareness instead of “trying” to be patient we actively engage in the experience of patience. For many people a softening appears, a steadiness and inner focus arrives that allows us to expand our view of our situation. When there is patience present there is expansion, there is a slowing down of breath and mind and of worry. And there we are, Patient. This indeed is a lifelong practice for even the greatest of saints, a constant surrender of self in order to fully be in the moment. Instead of “having” patience, we simply allow ourselves to experience patience. A healing open state we all can strive for and receive.
|
