Patience for the Easy & Hard Stuff
This is a little embarrassing, but it is not uncommon for me to spill water on the countertop as I'm pouring from the kettle, simply because I'm wanting to hurry it up. I love the look of our gooseneck kettle. Curt loves how it makes a great coffee pour-over. But it does test my patience when filling the mug. It encourages me to take a deep breath and enjoy watching the steam rise.
This is a inconsequential daily habit where I'm forced to practice patience, but what about the bigger stuff–like when you are feeling stuck with where you are in life?
We are in a transition phase right now and it's hard not to feel impatient at times. We decided to semi-retire, but I'm impatient for the time when we finally decide we have enough saved. It's easier now, but I'm handling this the same way I handled the years when I felt trapped in a job I hated.
I'm relaxing in to where I find myself today. The basic strategy with this is you just decide to stop struggling, or to give it up to God or a higher power. Often fighting a situation only feeds it energy and strengthens being stuck–because you're less open to possibilities when you are so intent on the problem.
Back then, I intentionally looked hard and often for hidden blessings. I stopped fighting so hard to get out of the situation, while at the same time allowing myself to contemplate the possibilities of what could be next.
It's not necessarily easy, but it's not necessarily hard either when you make up your mind that this is how you are going to play this round.
And in the time you are patiently waiting, appreciating and dreaming forward, there's usually a lot of growth that's happening underneath–the kind of growth that you may very well need for what's next.
Regardless of whether or not you find yourself in a waiting phase in life, practicing patience can help you smile while waiting in line (or pouring from the kettle). Here's a few ways I like to practice as shared in one of the Flourishing Digital Journal Guides.
- Letting mail of interest sit unopened for a bit.
- Checking email at a predetermined time.
- Pausing for a few moments before answering the phone.
- Waiting until later to use my phone.
- Meditating.
- Sitting and being curious when feeling uncomfortable emotions.
- Listening longer and pausing before speaking.
Which of these do you find the most challenging? What you are patiently waiting for these days? Drop me a line as I'd love to hear what's happening in your life. In the meantime, make your day a lovely one. 💕
Humbly, Julie
I allow life to unfold with grace.
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