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Heartwings Love Notes 843 - Patience Training

Heartwings says, "If you are waiting patiently, are you feeling impatience?"

There is a joke to the effect that when a minister repeatedly prayed to God for patience, God sent him an incompetent secretary. Patience training is best experienced when I am in situations requiring patience. How else can I learn? Motherhood is good for that. Patience is needed when caring for small children. I recall my walks with toddlers when they were small, having to move at their pace as they could not to walk faster than their short legs would carry them.

Those days are long over. Now I walk more slowly because my legs simply do not move with the speed they used to. I work at being patient with myself, and it is not easy. I remember how fast I used to walk, I was even proud of it. When did I begin to slow down? Age creeps up on us when we are not expecting it. There are lots of books on what to expect when you are expecting a child or when one is born and you need to cope. Someone needs to write a book on what to expect as you age. Maybe it ought to be titled: Aging for Dummies.

Of course we all age differently. Still, it might be useful to know more about what can happen to the body not to mention the mind. Most of my relatives seem to have aged well. That is to say they were vigorous and active while they lived. However, I have passed the age they were they left this life, and I do not remember any mention of how they felt as age advanced upon them. Nor did I think to ask. The country of old age is a foreign place to most of us. How it feels and how it causes us to act are mysteries we cannot plumb without experiencing them for ourselves. Still it might be nice to have some guidance.

At least I can contribute things I have learned that may help. Depending on how much patience I have time passes either quickly or slowly. So rather than focus on how I dislike waiting, if I observe my surroundings it is easier to be patient. I also recognize that the more patience I have with myself the easier it is to be patient with others. One of the secrets to achieving patience is distraction. Another is respect. That respect is usually linked with compassion, something that seems to have come with age and as I have worked for it. When I respect my limitations or those of another, patience comes easy. Above all else what really matters is one simple thing: practice, and aging gives me plenty of that.

May you find good way to enjoy learning to be patient.

PS How have you practiced or learned patience? I love it when readers share.

I love to hear from readers and would be honored if you would comment and let me know any suggestions or thoughts. If a friend sent you this, you can sign up at my web site, www.heartwingslovenotes.com, where more love notes can be found in the archives.

Blessings and Best Regards,
Tasha Halpert
 

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