How to Master Patience
The New Moon week this month (April 27-May 3) opens a window of opportunity for us to let go and shed what does not serve us in growing and cultivating our true, innermost desires. And many right now, including myself, are seeking more patience.
We can all use more patience, can't we?
If you garden or grow plants, the following example may especially resonate. And even if you don't, I invite you stay with me. Especially in Springtime, as we're sowing new seeds or transplanting seedlings from the nursery, it's vital that we do and commit to the dirty work of weeding. Plucking out the opportunistic plants that grow faster and send roots down deeper that want to outcompete and choke what you've intended to grow. And I find it fascinating that the weeds won't pop up in the parts of my garden where I'm not watering and not planting seeds. No, they keep popping up right where I'm focused on growing something, often appearing right next to my seedlings and at the base of larger plants, vying for my attention and energy. Fascinating, right?
And it is the same with planting and sowing seeds of patience.
If you desire patience, sure, it'll grow. But desiring patience, or desiring anything for that matter, is not enough.
To master patience, you must be clear on the "weeds" that are against patience in your life. The thought patterns, habits, compulsions, and triggers that sabotage your commitment to patience and stop it from thriving. Because if you don't know what they are, or don't want to know what they are, there is no way to stop them from perpetuating impatience in your world. So from greater awareness and knowledge, you gain power and responsibility for plucking those weeds out with more clarity, efficiency, and precision.
Now in wishing for more patience, please don't fall into the trap of expecting the transformation to happen instantly and voila! You're a changed person. Even if you're praying and meditating really earnestly and reverently for patience, that's not how it works. Rather, you will receive what you're asking for, just like those weeds that pop up right where you're planting seeds. And those will be opportunities to choose patience where you routinely choose impatience.
These opportunities can appear to you in the following ways:
The person in the check out line ahead of you counting all their change and digging for coupons they can't seem to find
Hitting all the red lights or getting caught in unexpected traffic
A waiter who drops your order and your food takes twice as long to get to you
Someone not responding to your text or email as quickly as they usually do
A document you've been working on for hours that suddenly deletes itself and you have to start over
Someone asking you a lot of questions and needing more clarity than usual from you, especially on what you assume to be common knowledge or "basic"
You catching my drift? Your buttons will be pushed - which is Good! You want to know that those are your buttons and you want to know what pushes them...so you can overcome them!
This is a foundational principle for almost all spiritual lessons.
Because learning to be more spiritual, and more in touch with your spiritual nature and the bigger picture to your reality, is not through going through the motions, repeating certain catch phrases, and appearing more spiritual.
Rather, it is an active, internal process that calls upon greater discipline, consistency, and devotion from you to continually choose in favor of what you desire and what serves your Higher Good and your Higher Purpose when presented with the opportunity to "let the weeds of the world grow" and choose against your Higher Good and Higher Purpose.
And the beautiful thing, and perhaps also the most challenging aspect, is that it is *for* you and *by* you. No one will, or can, do this for you.
In the words of one of my mentors from Ireland, Martina Coogan, who helped guided me through a really tough time where I almost threw in the towel, "only you can shift you."
Read that again and let it echo in your head for a bit. You must learn to accept the power and responsibility from within yourself to know and master yourself as a spiritual being living in the physical world - not the other way around! And if you want something other than what you have, you must be willing to walk and the walk. And when you fall or veer off course, be willing to get back up and find your way again.
So if you're feeling in need of more patience or more inner peace and acceptance, keep what I've said in mind. You don't have to believe me - I'd rather you didn't just by my word alone. Instead, apply it and see what happens. And when those opportunities to learn and grow and choose differently come up, remember that they are happening for you. And you can choose to pluck up the weed...or let it grow. Which do you want? Because you can't have both.
For mastering patience lies not in others not testing you or you avoiding situations or circumstances that stretch your patience. Rather it lies with you in being clear that your patience is your responsibility, regardless of what is happening around you or what others choose to do. And by mastering patience, day by day, moment by moment, and facing the choice with confidence, your patience can become your superpower as you recognize the tests clearly as opportunities and freely give yourself permission to pass them with gratitude and grace.
