EP 372: The Value of Patience

For many of us, and it certainly used to be for me personally, life is perceived as a series of events that lead to some kind of happiness that exists ‘out there somewhere’. This sets up a mindset of striving that we unwittingly practice for our entire lives. At 8:00 in the morning, we’re striving to get to 3:30 so we can play with our friends. On Monday morning, we’re striving toward Friday and the wonderful weekend. On the first day of 3rd grade, we’re striving toward 4th grade, because that’s one step closer to the happiness ‘out there.’ As we live this way, striving becomes the natural state of our bodies and minds. It feels normal and natural. And we find ourselves just ‘getting through’ our lives. But when we practice the opposite of all this striving, we gain patience. We become aligned with that two-year-old we once were, when we could happily play with a beetle and a blade of grass we found on a walk for hours on end. In this patience, we come to understand that life doesn’t happen ‘out there’ in some mysterious goal. Life happens right here, right now. What do you think about this?