“My terrors should be quieted, my irritations soothed, my illusions shaken off, my indulgences checked, my greed rebuked.  And which of these cures can be brought about in a hurry?”–Seneca

Where can I find Patience?

The value of patience is best measured when I find out what happens when I don’t have it.  Things take time, and often they will not go my way.  When I am impatient, I create a tension within myself without anyone else’s help.  In another words, my impatience makes things worse.  This creates anger and other negative emotions, which in turn, impedes my ability to see things clearly.  …to think rationally …to be happy.

I can be impatient with many things.  Here are a few of them:

• Progress of my career
• My child’s development (in sports, school, maturity, etc.)
• My parents’ stories
• The agent at the help desk
• The [lack of] performance of my computer
• My house’s state of clutter or cleanliness
• Someone else’s listening skills
• My own listening skills

Regardless of what I am impatient of, I can refill my patience reservoir in this way.  Start by gently breathing in and out.  When I breathe in, I think “breathing in,” when I breathe out, I think “breathing out.”  Now, after a few moments of slowing down and being aware of the breath, I can now think “patience” with each breath.  Really think about the meaning, maybe apply it to each of those situations above.  At the beginning of the day, I say “I will have patience with…”  At the end of the day, I can ask, “Did I have patience with…?”  Once I am satisfied, that my patience reservoir is full, I can move on with my day.

This activity requires quite a bit of…

How is your patience doing today?  Are there better ways to nurture patience?