July 29

PATIENCE MONTH: DAY 29: “So much of control is not authoritative action but mindful waiting.” ― Cameron Conaway

When we walk away from something with which we are growing impatient, we are able to master it. This is such an important idea for me.

I have learned to do my part and then put it down. I have challenges with this, because I am a “get ‘er done” kind of person. I seldom begin a project without an end date already in mind. I want it to be completed before I can walk away.

I do this all the time with home and garden projects, which can be very deadly for me in the arenas of my aging physical body. I am learning to let go of the end results more and more as time goes on.

I am also able to do this in terms of things where I have to wait for others to do their piece(s) before I can complete mine. I am not yet as good at this as I hope to become.

Truly, aging is a great help with this. I also know that there is more traffic in the world since I began to travel (anywhere and everywhere!) And there are more people everywhere in the world, so lines are getting longer, and everything takes more time.

On the other hand, there is a great deal more technology that helps make some things much, much faster. Sometimes too fast for me.

So, the waiting must be mindful, or it doesn’t count as patience. Giving up and throwing in the towel are not the same as mindful waiting. I know the difference and feel it instantly, don’t you?

And no matter how hard I pound my head against the wall, I cannot move mountains any more than one shovel of dirt at a time. As anxious as I may be for outcomes, I must wait, just like everyone else. There is no special compensatory pace for me, no matter how special I may believe my set of circumstances is.

I am happy to report that I have not been angry with life in some time, because it refuses to bend to my will. I am pretty happy with what IS, and that is such incredible and miraculous growth for me that I am even happier now!