The Art Of Patience

Patience is a Powerful Tool

Patience is a powerful and vital trait to develop.
It contributes to our happiness in extremely important way.
It is worth studying and practicing the art of patience.

Like any art form that we study
the initial stages will be awkward and clumsy.
It is rare that the first time somebody
dances or paints that they are perfect at it.

Persistence Produces Results

Overtime though if we persevere,
we can develop a certain proficiency.
Even when it’s difficult to be patient
And even when you lose it
Just don’t give up.

Forgive yourself and keep working at it.

I guess what I am saying is
you have to have patience
in order to develop patience.

Effortful Patience

There is a form of patience in which you
grit your teeth and bear something unpleasant.

While this can be very useful at times
it does not actually contribute to a deeply peaceful inner life.
If one is always doing this a lot of repression is occurring.

The build-up of negative emotions will eventually explode
and your appearance of patience will explode along with it.

I am not saying it is never necessary to do this,
in fact in the beginning and middle stages
of developing an attitude of real patience
this will often be a necessary effort.

I am saying however, that this is not the deepest
or most authentic form of patience.

Patience Comes From Acceptance

A deeper level of patience is
when you are able to accept what comes
as part of the natural unfolding of the universe.

It is vital to have a well-entrenched sense of self-esteem,
self-love and self-confidence to have real patience.

Real patience allows you to accept another person
without demeaning yourself.
In fact I find that when I am able to access
the compassionate understanding necessary for patience
I feel uplifted by the experience.

This is because authentic patience has love at its root.

Patience is Love

Therefore the art of patience
is truly the art of love.
And the practice of patience
is the practice of love.

Without Patience Conflict Can Spiral Out Of Control

Real patience is never quite as important
as in deep relationships like parent-child or lovers.
Conflict can occur so easily and spiral wildly out of control
if we do not have this quality in our personality.

I have seen it time and time again both
with parents and with romantic relationships
that a lack of patience in difficult moments
creates distance and separation that can be very difficult to mend.
It gathers momentum and keeps building until it can be hard to recover from.

It Allows Us To See More Clearly In Difficult Moments

If we can engage a powerful sense of patience
then we can see clearly,
or at least more clearly
through the tension created by conflict
and make more appropriate, harmonious and connecting choices.
Rather than choices that drive us further apart.

Opportunities For Practice Are Limitless

The wonderful thing about trying to attain
a deeper level of patience is that you can be quite certain
there will be opportunities for practice right around the corner.
They are plentiful and always available!

Really all you have to do is interact with anyone
for more than 5 minutes and you are likely to need this skill.

It is a worthy skill to develop
and a powerful tool in your inner toolbox.