Monday, June 13, 2011

Patience

I never have been a patient person...I haven't known many patient people & I never really tried to become one, although I always saw the wisdom in it.  In this rush-rush world of results and outcomes, I just never practiced, although I appreciated those who were patient with me along the way.  Patience was one of those things that I thought did not belong to me...I wasn't like that...didn't possess that quality.  I believed this thinking blindly as it lead me to many a heart-ache and many a bad result. 
Recently, and quite without premeditation, I began questioning myself...began seeing myself as patient.
Two stories...
My daughter was at the pool recently with a friend.  She is a pre-teen in all definitions of the word, and everything for me right now is a test.  Her friend's parents arrived at the same pick up time and when we got there, of course, neither of the girls was ready to go.  The test began.
Her friend's parents were slightly strict and they snapped their fingers, becoming angry about the girls' resistance.  I asked my daughter to come over, and she replied gruffly with a sassy look, "Just a minute, mom!".  I was incredibly aware of what the other parents were thinking and almost yelled at her to get her buns out of the pool.
For some reason, a pure shot of wisdom...a beautiful insight...I instead decided to patiently smile back and observe her a little bit without judgement...or insecurity.  I decided to have unwavering faith in her...quiet faith...patient faith.  What happened was that I felt understanding for her and knew I could be a little patient at this moment.  I was not okay with my daughter's behavior, but I was more aware of how to calmly handle the situation. 
I laughed to the other parents that they just wanted to finish their game in the pool.  The judgement did not change, but my reaction to it did.  I was really proud of myself, and I felt a lot of love for my daughter.  She came bounding out of the pool all legs and smiles in less time than it would have taken me to yell at her or go get her. 
What I was really aware of was how cute my daughter was, and how happy she looked.  I also noticed that the other parents were quiet...no yelling or snapping.  Did they learn something, as I had?  I don't know, but I do know that I felt very pleased and very connected to my sweet daughter. 

A few days later, patience saved the day again.  We have been looking for a home to rent, and the market has been highly competitive.  We had one application in at a place we sort-of liked, got rejected from one, were 2nd in line for one that got rented out, and were in discussions with a man regarding his house, which we loved despite the bad location.  In short, we were in the game, but did not feel clear about anything that we had seen. 
We went back for a 2nd visit to the home in the wrong location, and we almost decided to go for it...almost decided to ignore our gut...almost acted without any patience.  That night a new home came on the market...perfect size, perfect location, perfect price.  We saw it right away and we both had a great feeling about the house.  Three other couples were viewing the house when we went, and the competition was obvious.  We did everything we could to let the owner know how interested we were, but ultimately we just had to have faith that it would turn out in out favor.
This morning, we got the call...the house is ours!  If we had not been patient, we'd have ended up in a home that we didn't feel sure about, and we'd be paying more money! 
Sometimes it feels hard or even impossible to be patient in this life, but that's just our thinking.  If we look at common sense, we will see that patience is quiet efficient and quiet simple.  If we could all learn to wait...to not react...until we feel clear and calm, what freedom we'd find!  We'd all have better predicaments, more time on our hands, and a nicer effect on each other.  May you be find patience today and also be treated with it!

No comments:

Post a Comment