Have a Little Patience

You know that saying “patience is a virtue”? Well I always hated that saying, mostly because I am a very impatient person. When I want something done right, I am going to do it myself. When I have to wait for results I am infuriated. And yet, over the years the times when I just rushed into something without a second thought are the times I regretted my actions the most. I really hate to say this but maybe patience IS a virtue. Maybe patience is something that is so lost on me that it needs to be force-fed it.

Take, for example, all of the big purchase decisions I have made in my life.

For some people they will research a big purchase for months. They will read up on a product thoroughly, knowing all its ins and outs. They will cross reference the cost of the product with similar products. They will come to the buying table with so much back knowledge that they could probably fool the salesman.

This is Rob.

Rob never makes spur of the moment purchases (certainly not big money purchases). Rob will read the owner’s manual of a product from cover to cover before he cracks it open from the box. He will patiently figure out everything there possible is to do with this thing that he has just purchased.

How in GOD’s name does he have that patience??

My buying decisions look something like this:

1. I see an awesome, new shiny gadget that just came out and was advertised all over the internet.
2. I decide to go buy said gadget.
3. I quickly remove my credit card and eagerly buy said gadget, drooling the whole way home.
4. When I get home (or maybe even when I am in the car) I rip open the packaging of said flashy gadget and then smash it around Bam-Bam style before flaunting it on Facebook for the world to see.
5. Within 24 hours said product is either: A) Broken B) Not what I expected or C) Dead.
6. Repeat steps one through five with new flashy product.

Had I been a little more patient I would probably still own three cameras (yes three, and no I don’t want to talk about it). Had I been a little bit more patient I probably would have bought a car that didn’t break down on me the second week I had it. Had I been a little more patient I wouldn’t own two and a half wedding dresses (yes two, and no I don’t want to talk about it).

Maybe I really should take my time!

Another reason why patience is a virtue is because on days like this – when the sun is shining and a light spring breeze is carrying the sounds of birds chirping I think back to all those darker days when life just seemed impossible. Those days when I was bashing my head against a wall and just thinking “how can I get through this?” Or “this is the worst day ever.”

I am sure you have had those days.

And lately I have just been bundled in this stress web that seems impossible to get out of. The more I try to get out the stickier I am and the more the stress pulls me in.

But then today I got two calls back to back that just seemed to change everything.

It always happens like that! You might not recognize it but these people- these strange crazy people on this large, wondrous planet- just come along to throw you a bone.

Just when you are at your darkest moment you sit next to a happy couple with the last name “Love”. They want to tell you that everything will be just fine. They don’t have to tell you that- but because they do you start to see that light at the end of the tunnel.

These hard moments that we all have to face are here only to make us stronger.

And these strangers have been sent by a power much larger than you understand, much larger than the Universe, to send you a message.

The message?

“It’s OK.”

And, “Keep trekking.”

Or “You are on the right path.”

And so when these two phone calls came in this morning I was so relieved. It seems I am going the right way. And just when you thought you were going the wrong way- it all comes together.

All you must have…

is a little patience.

Patience a haiku:

Patience – To Wait With Certainty

The Art of Allowing Life to Carry You

Wait in the power of knowing what is possible

Do not waver

Remain steady

Remain true to your goals and allow life to carry you.

That which is worthwhile is sometimes created slowly.