Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better take things as they come along with patience and equanimity. -Carl Jung
In this fast-paced life, it is sometimes very hard to find patience, the mind is wondering around, new information comes in from different places and devices. There is a feeling that we have to do this and that, go to this and that place, get this and that, and do more and more. A constant feeling of being in a hurry, while worrying about the future.
There are times when we feel helpless and it is hard to find comfort in this very moment. It is about finding trust and patience.
Meditation practice has made me more patient, more trusting and accepting of the world around and my place in it.
The journey is different for everyone, but from my experience there are times when I experience impatience even right before the meditation and over time have learned to become more aware of it. Seeing things more clearly sometimes can also result in a new feeling of even more impatience, that is not true really as we just become more aware of such feelings. Becoming more clear about our feelings, including those which trouble us the most tend to decrease as our resistance toward them lessens.
Buddhist teacher and author Jack Kornfield says that the path to unlocking your full potential begins with one very important thing: patience.
So how can we develop it?
In this short video below from the “Gratitude Revealed” series, Jack Kornfield says it all begins with trust.
“Patience is really about trust. I see trust as like planting a seed. When you plant a seed in the garden, there are droughts that come, there are insects that come, so you have to tend the seed. But if you tend it, it wants to grow, and it will produce amazing things.”
“So, you choose your intention; you plant a beautiful seed. You direct yourself to a creative project … to a community, a family, a part of the earth, to something that is a gift that’s given to you, that you can give back. And then, you see what happens.”
“Patience sometimes can be misunderstood as inactivity, If I am patient ‘I’m holding back and I’m not going to give myself fully to something,’Patience, or trust is really waiting for the right season… Like surfing, you don’t just get on your board and paddle. You wait for the right moment and the wave.”
“Patience allows a kind of deep inner trust, that we have the capacity to be with the matrix of life. And when you quiet your mind and open your heart and look to the mystery, then it’s not even a question of patience, it’s a question of being home. And you’re home exactly where you are, which is where you always are: in the reality of the present.”
“It doesn’t mean that we don’t weep. It doesn’t mean that we don’t care deeply about the losses in the world. In some way, as we become trusting, patient, more grateful, even grateful for the difficulties, we also allow ourselves to be touched more fully by life.”
“And in that there is trust, in that there is a sense of not a patience, but presence that grows. Here we are in this vast ocean with the waves and we are learning to surf.”
“As you quiet, how can you be anything but grateful? Grateful for the next breath, grateful to be able to walk and eat, grateful for the eyes that allow yourself to see the colors of the world, grateful for your ability to choose and move and respond.”
“This awareness, this presence, we could call it sacred presence, it is who we really are.”
“You are the love of the world. Remember this as your true nature. Trust it. It is your home.”
Being patient and trusting in the process, we invite a calming sense of gratitude into everything we do.
Headspace founder Andy Puddicombe has commented on the cultivation of patience also very simply:
“The most important aspect to remember throughout is that patience is not something we need to develop. Instead, we need to learn how to let go of impatience. This may sound like the same thing, but it’s actually quite different.
Patience is an inherent part of a calm and clear mind. If we know this, if we understand it, then we do not try to “create” patience; instead we simply let go of the noise and our involvement in that activity and thereby experience patience. In this scenario we can say that the absence of impatience has led to the experience of patience.
However, if we feel that we need to try and “create” patience, then we will likely feel more stressed about the process, perhaps spend a lot of time thinking about the process, possibility and potential, and may even create more impatience in the mind.”
Having the patience and trust to sit with yourself and embrace the present moment is very powerful. Enjoy the journey!
