When Patience Becomes Waiting
What happens when patience becomes waiting?
Patience is a virtue. When embraced, it becomes part of your personal power, a deep-rooted disposition that guides you through life. Spiritual leaders, mentors, mothers – master the art of patience. Whether self-imposed or not, they’ve been enlightened and understand this delicate skill. Me?! Yeah, not so much.
There were many things I wanted to be when I grew up, and patient was one of them. Actually, let me rephrase. Growing up, there were many things I wanted and I wanted it pronto. To run, before I could crawl. To own before I could work. To be a success without doing anything. Apparently that is not how the journey works. They tell me, I have to stand “here”, before I get “there”. And in the midst of all the hankerings, one answer will remain constant (it has since I was 4 years old), “Desiree, be patient.”
“Be patient”. Wow, that seems to be the solution for everything – for all the things I crave and don’t have. And I have gotten better at this endurance – knowing that I don’t really have any say in the uncontrollable. But at this point, the real question is, when does patience become waiting?
A ponder that arose over morning breakfast. My friend started up on her past relationship, one that ebbed and flowed over four years of her life. Finally, it floated, away. She explained that changes needed to be made. And he knew that. But time passed, with lots of talk, but nothing was ever different. She told me that she is an extremely patient person, but sometimes her patience becomes waiting. It was wasted energy on something that wasn’t going to be.
In life, patience can be a great ache. How do you “be” patient? Webster says patience is “enduring trying circumstances with an even temper, without protest or complaint” (sounds simple on paper, let’s see how easy that is when you have three kids screaming, the phone is ringing, and you’re waiting for dinner to be ready). It’s a state-which means you have to find that feeling for you. It’s a hard one to grasp, because there is no “one-way” – it’s your way. Waiting on the other hand is simply, not acting; remaining in active. Are they one in the same? Well, sometimes waiting is what we need to do, in order to be patient. And other times, like my friend, it means it’s time to stop waiting, and move on. If you’re like me, and having trouble finding peace in patience, don’t give up. It’s there, in you, somewhere. After all, good things come to those who wait.
© Desiree Daniel November 24, 2005
Patience is a virtue. When embraced, it becomes part of your personal power, a deep-rooted disposition that guides you through life. Spiritual leaders, mentors, mothers – master the art of patience. Whether self-imposed or not, they’ve been enlightened and understand this delicate skill. Me?! Yeah, not so much.
There were many things I wanted to be when I grew up, and patient was one of them. Actually, let me rephrase. Growing up, there were many things I wanted and I wanted it pronto. To run, before I could crawl. To own before I could work. To be a success without doing anything. Apparently that is not how the journey works. They tell me, I have to stand “here”, before I get “there”. And in the midst of all the hankerings, one answer will remain constant (it has since I was 4 years old), “Desiree, be patient.”
“Be patient”. Wow, that seems to be the solution for everything – for all the things I crave and don’t have. And I have gotten better at this endurance – knowing that I don’t really have any say in the uncontrollable. But at this point, the real question is, when does patience become waiting?
A ponder that arose over morning breakfast. My friend started up on her past relationship, one that ebbed and flowed over four years of her life. Finally, it floated, away. She explained that changes needed to be made. And he knew that. But time passed, with lots of talk, but nothing was ever different. She told me that she is an extremely patient person, but sometimes her patience becomes waiting. It was wasted energy on something that wasn’t going to be.
In life, patience can be a great ache. How do you “be” patient? Webster says patience is “enduring trying circumstances with an even temper, without protest or complaint” (sounds simple on paper, let’s see how easy that is when you have three kids screaming, the phone is ringing, and you’re waiting for dinner to be ready). It’s a state-which means you have to find that feeling for you. It’s a hard one to grasp, because there is no “one-way” – it’s your way. Waiting on the other hand is simply, not acting; remaining in active. Are they one in the same? Well, sometimes waiting is what we need to do, in order to be patient. And other times, like my friend, it means it’s time to stop waiting, and move on. If you’re like me, and having trouble finding peace in patience, don’t give up. It’s there, in you, somewhere. After all, good things come to those who wait.
© Desiree Daniel November 24, 2005
posted by Desiree Daniel @ 8:25 AM
2 Comments:
At 4:19 AM,
Anonymous said…
Thank you for your eloquent words. Timing was everything. I too had been told over the past several decades that Patience is a virtue; my response was, "well I guess I'm not that kind of girl!".
But, now I find myself tested --- to be patient, to sit still. And with that comes a host of feelings, many tearful moments of ....can we get on with this please. Anxiousness is overwhelming. So, I sit, anxiously waiting and praying that I too will soon see my virtue.
At 4:19 AM,
Anonymous said…
Thank you for your eloquent words. Timing was everything. I too had been told over the past several decades that Patience is a virtue; my response was, "well I guess I'm not that kind of girl!".
But, now I find myself tested --- to be patient, to sit still. And with that comes a host of feelings, many tearful moments of ....can we get on with this please. Anxiousness is overwhelming. So, I sit, anxiously waiting and praying that I too will soon see my virtue.
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