“All we need is just a little patience”
The far-reaching benefits of practicing mindful gratitude have been widely written about and almost-universally acknowledged. I’m just one of many to have shared my thoughts on the subject.
I’ve recently been considering other traits and characteristics that I could focus upon to further enrich my life. I’ve considered practising empathy as a means of better connecting with and serving those that I care about. I observe the key tenets of stoicism, recognising that it’s within my gift to determine what I do and how I react to things; I can’t control others nor the things that they do. What others think of me is also none of my business.
Today I’m here to acknowledge another trait whose effects seem key to living a rich and fulfilled life. It’s the characteristic that Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses fame sung about, quoted in the title of this piece. That trait, is patience.
I must have listened to that song hundreds of times in my youth. I used to be able to play it (badly) on the guitar. It featured on my pre-wedding playlist while our guests were arriving at the ceremony. While the lyrics focus on the role of patience in a romantic relationship, I can reflect on numerous ways in which patience has served me well. Becoming more patient, less impetuous and attuned to the role of time in allowing results and effects to emerge is…
