Patience

Taken from the book: A Moment to Reflect: Patience by Veronica Ray

We choose to be either patient or impatient many times each day. We have to wait for people, computers, traffic lights, and the preparation of food. Impatience doesn't make us feel better. It only makes us nervous, angry, and unable to enjoy ourselves.

We learn patience by practicing. When we drive up to a flashing light at a railroad crossing, instead of turning around and finding another route, we can wait. We can turn off the engine, relax, think, pray, look around, or listen to music. We can watch as children do, wondering what's inside the boxcars, noticing signs of where they're going. A quiet moment like this won't spoil our day or destroy our schedule. It just might help us, refresh us, calm us down, and remind us to be patient.

This hit me right between the eyes today. It was my second day back to work and by noon I was pooped. I found myself being very impatient with everything and then I started slipping into those old negative thinking patterns. I came across this reading on my afternoon break......Just goes to show that if you ask for help, the answer will be revealed to you. I stopped by a meeting on my way home from work and heard a very similar story as this one. Being back at work right now is a huge lesson in patience. My body will heal when its ready to heal and not a moment sooner. I am learning more and more everyday about all the things I have been taking for granted my whole life. As I am on my way to bed tonight I am grateful to be where I am today. I have been blessed with so many opportunities. I am especially grateful to have choices today that didn't exisit before. I can chose whether I will approach life with patience and absorbe all that each moment has to give or I can approach my day with impatience and miss all the beautiful things life has to give.