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Patience

“Patience is not the ability to wait but rather how you act while you’re waiting.”

~ Joyce Meyer.

Patience:  Virtue?  Irritant?  Or Irritating Virtue?  (Ha!)

The most patient people I know are gardeners ~ at least with their gardens, that is. They know that what is planted will grow – in it’s own time. They know that “wishin’ won’t make it so” and that, if they do their part, something wonderful will be forthcoming.  Yes, there are winds and rains and droughts that may come along ~ “may” being the operative word ~ yet overall they are patient folks.  Great role-models.

Patience can be equated to Stillness, in the sense there need be no frenetic movement or thinking (or over-thinking).  And the seeds in the garden are germinating.

Patience can be equated to Observing.  It is difficult to observe hastily, caught in hustle-and-bustle, literally not seeing what is happening before one’s very eyes. Meanwhile, the seeds in the garden are sprouting tiny tender leaves.

Patience is “chop wood and carry water;” a zen proverb that boils down to the fact that the activities of daily life still take place. Wood for the fire doesn’t magically appear in the hearth; water to drink or wash needs to come up from the well, or faucet. Teeth need brushing, cars need gas, jobs await, kids need to be fed. Those everyday activities still exist. And the seeds/leaves in the garden are taking on shape. (Miniature Burpee picture-shapes! Since 1876 no less!)

Important point here:  true Patience is not Procrastination. There is a HUGE difference between those mindsets.  No evading or avoiding or pretending-it-isn’t-happening.  Instead, actual awareness and the decision to wait ~ gather more data ~ gain more clarity ~ check out options previously unaware of ~ assess the gut-and-Mind for feelings ~  validate their truthfulness in the Now (not yesterday.)  Make movement forward.  OMGosh – there are buds on those tiny plants!

Yes ~ at some point one needs to make a choice, a decision, create action. (Even if that action is to not do something regarding what one was pondering, or initially was wanting or waiting for.)  Yes ~ there are always those moments (and decisions) that require an act of faith:  in one’s fellow human, in one’s own skills, in envisioning positive results without guarantees. {Huh ~ Bravery Cloak time!}  Woohoo, there are baby fruits or veggies or flowers on those not-so-tiny-plants now!

Procrastination is letting the bounty die on the vine.  Allowing the ground to fall fallow.  Allowing fear of….. to win the day, the week, the lifetime remaining. 

Instead, Patience.  It is time to harvest:  Trust self.  Step into it with gratitude and joy. Firmly, confidently, and with an ease that flows. 

And bring a BIG Basket. The abundance is awesome!