PATIENCE MONTH: DAY 12: “Patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can – working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!
Impatience, on the other hand, is a symptom of selfishness. It is a trait of the self-absorbed. It arises from the all-too-prevalent condition called “center of the universe” syndrome, which leads people to believe that the world revolves around them and that all others are just supporting cast in the grand theater of mortality in which only they have the starring role.” ― Dieter F. Uchtdorf
I love the lessons I receive in impatience. They give me a foundation of who I do NOT want to be. I get to see how ugly humans are who are entitled and self-centered, as mentioned in this quote. Isn’t it awful to see someone act like that in a public setting? I think so.
I never really thought about it until I saw what it looked like to witness others being rude and ugly in a market, or in traffic, or in a place where everyone else is content to wait their turn and be patient with the process. Ugh!
And I know I have been just as guilty as any of them in believing I should be ahead of others who got there before me or planned their time better than I did. I am not the most patient person when driving. That is where I really see myself as an asshole. So, I try to practice leaving a bit earlier and letting others do what they need to do on the roads. This is the greatest place for me to practice patience, other than with myself.
It is such an important concept in learning to be in adult relationship with the world around me. I don’t know how to do that, I must say. This is all a learning process for me. I have to accept my lack of ability in enduring, as this quote states. I am not good at that. Nor am I a patient person, by nature. Selfish and self-centered is the norm here!
So, I really love this quote, because I can see the progress in me. I can see the need for more work as well. It is all a good thing!
Dolphin Hug 