July 3

PATIENCE MONTH: DAY 3: I believe that a trusting attitude and a patient attitude go hand in hand. You see, when you let go and learn to trust God, it releases joy in your life. And when you trust God, you’re able to be more patient. Patience is not just about waiting for something… it’s about how you wait, or your attitude while waiting.  — Joyce Meyer

What isn’t said here; and what, to me, is the most important factor about waiting for the Universe to bring results rather than attempting to make them happen myself; is that they are WAY better than what I know how to create. I cannot manifest miracles all by myself…my only job here is to pay attention the miracles that are created daily and to say THANK YOU! again and again and again. I have tons of evidence of the presence of something out there. I am not inclined to often use the word “God”, only because of my own personal history and indoctrination with that concept. So I use Universe, Creator, or Power. But the belief (s) I have been able to gather here are so powerful, because no matter how dubious I am at the beginning of a situation, the daily evidence that I write about in my morning gratitude pages is vast. I know how to create outcomes, but they are the same ones, over and over. I love the outcomes that I get when I wait for what the Universe can create, because they are vastly superior to my work…and I have learned to love surprises! That is very different from the controlling person I have always been. I thought I was keeping myself safe with my control issues and rigidity, even though I did not know that was what I was doing for all of those years. I got to the point where I could see that, then it was imperative for me to let go of the control. It never kept me safe, life is not a safe place…it is messy and crazy and random and only perfect when I look for and see the hand of the Divine in all that is being done. But in order to do that, I must back off from my personal viewpoint and gain a higher, bigger and wider perspective on all of it! As I do, I get to see how that butterfly flapping its wings in Chile will affect the weather for me and billions of other people on this planet. What a great way to recognize the miraculous formation of a Universe, the planet, this continent, this territory, this neighborhood, this home, this garden, this person…etc., etc., etc. But I have to have the patience with self and life to look at ALL the picture, not just my little crumb of it. Developing a sense of “other” is the key. We are so self-centered and look at such a tiny little part of everything…what Clancy calls the “disease of perception” focuses on only the crumb. When I stand up on the hill and see the whole valley and the hillside, it gives me a whole different view of life…then I can do what I call “sitting on the clouds with the angels” and seeing the whole vista…oh! Quite a different deal from there! And I am patient with that process more and more as time goes on. I have become willing to wait. There is nothing more uncomfortable than being in a waiting situation with someone who is impatient and rude…like in traffic or in a line somewhere. We all feel the insult of them believing their urgency is more imperative than ours; it is offensive to most of us. I am mindful, then, that I want to behave differently than that, even if I feel the same way. Teachers all around! I love that too! Today I will wait, and I will see the miracles that occur, and I will give credit by becoming grateful, and so on and so on…it’s a beautiful day!