Practicing patience can help us to feel more at peace and ease in the present moment. One of our habitual patterns as human beings is that when we are in the midst of difficult circumstances, once we have insight or have made changes, we tend to look to the past with regret and disbelief that we didn’t change sooner. It’s easy to get so caught up in regret that we leave the present moment and live in the past. Mindfulness and meditation can help us to stay grounded in the present moment and practice patience.
River knows this: There is no hurry. We shall get there some day. –A.A. Milne
No matter whether we are twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, or seventy, we may still focus on regret that we didn’t change sooner and feel that we have wasted precious time. Any moment is a good moment to begin to change habits that create suffering. Now is the perfect time to begin to practice patience. Patience is an attitude of allowing things to unfold in their own timing.
Try becoming consciously aware of this habit of impatience or regret, and the next time you notice it, try applying patience to the situation at hand. You might ask yourself, “How can I practice patience in this moment?” Then try resting the attention on the sensations and feelings that accompany a sense of freedom that is inherent in practicing patience, allowing things to unfold in their own timing.
Try meeting yourself with an open heart, with lovingkindness and self-compassion, allowing yourself to be exactly where you are in this moment, and try practicing patience, knowing that life unfolds in its own timing.
Warmly,
Jen
Jen Johnson offers mindfulness workshops online