The Beauty of Patience

If there’s one virtue that’s always eluded me, it is patience. The ability to wait and be peaceful while doing it. But the problem with patience is that you have to trust that things will happen, without any insurance that it will. How do you trust something you do not know will happen?

Not all that glitters…

Not all that looks like patience is exactly that. In some cases, it could be apathy, and that is something a world apart from waiting with grace. Apathy is a sort of numbness that keeps you in a state of constant fear. And, because you are afraid something won’t happen, nothing does. That is the bitter irony of it. On the other hand, it’s comfortable. Nothing happens, so you won’t have to deal with any difficult situations.

Being patient is something entirely different.

There’s no numbness, you do not only exist, you are also alive. Having patience means to continue living your life and to trust that someday, you will be where you are supposed to be. The trick is to not have this fixed plan about where exactly you want to be. Rather than that, have a plan on how you want to feel. Because, any house, car, or picket fence will not make you happy. Feeling happy will make you happy. Sounds stupidly easy, but that’s it. Always work towards what you want, but don’t try to force things to happen, simply let them unfold.

Everything — or nothing

Life, however, is a funny thing. It has the ability to test your level of patience, not only in terms of nothing happening at all but also when everything happens at once. I never could make peace with that part. Turning into a hermit is so much easier, but you’ll miss all the fun. When the dust settles and your new landscape becomes clear, there is a big chance, believe it or not, that you’ll like it.

Change may not always be good, but it is always necessary.

If you develop the skill of embracing change and making the best of it, no matter what it might be, you will be happy.

Mastering the beautiful

The simple beauty in patience comes from the sense of peace it provides. When mastering it, you will be able to live a full life even when waiting for it become full. And if you allow it, patience will become a part of your life you are not willing to sacrifice. It will become a way of life and the journey itself will become the best part of it.