"The waiting is the hardest part." -Tom Petty
Here we go again, talking about something I am not so good at. But I am realizing, if I struggle with it, most likely many of us do. The beauty of recognizing our similarities is refreshing for me. And that is exactly why we should talk about these topics openly.
So to the topic, PATIENCE.
When was the last time you felt impatient? For me just today. It’s something I struggle with pretty much every day. Stepping back and seeing the beauty right in front of me instead of longing for the things I perceive that I don’t have. Yes, I say perceive because often we have all we need right in front of us.
Do you want to find purpose in your work?
-->You can find it in the current work you do if you have the right perspective.
Do you want to find love?
-->You can find it within those immediately around you or in yourself if you look at it from a certain vantage point.
This is the secret to contentment. Seeing what is right in front of you instead of looking past the simple beauties that have been presented to you right here and right now. Yes, contentment is so often about a perspective shift. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying to deny your deepest desires, because we all have them. Yet, I am saying to try to find that balance of hope for the future and contentment within the present as well as reverence for the past.
Here are the big questions to ask yourself.
Do I have reverence and respect for all that I have been through and accomplished?
Am I holding on to certain things that I need to find a way to let go of or have I released the past with respect and reverence?
Do I know what I hope for but recognize that I need to trust perfect timing that I may not fully understand when or how it will come about?
Creating balance between your future desires and your past experience can help you find contentment in your present circumstance. When we get stuck in one place—the future or the past we lose sight of the present beauties of life. And we need to be present and content in the moment to be able to accept the future with open arms.
How do you embrace the present? By first showing reverence and respect for the places you have been and the pain you have experienced. Second, by expressing with vulnerability, clarity, and pleasure the places you would like to go. And finally, experiencing the present with love and understanding that it is taking you from past experiences to future ones.
So you will hopefully agree, the waiting really is the hardest part but I do hope I have suggested some helpful thoughts on how to maneuver those in between moments. Maybe not even see them as in between anymore but rather, exactly where you are supposed to be. Right here, right now—in the beautiful present, which really is full of love and purpose. Trust that you will get there as you shift your perspective and see that beautiful aspects of life.
Blessings to you. And if you need some help in seeing that beauty I am here to connect and share.
“A waiting person is a patient person. The word patience means the willingness to stay where we are and live the situation out to the fullest in the belief that something hidden there will manifest itself to us. Impatient people are always expecting the real thing to happen somewhere else and therefore want to go elsewhere. The moment is empty. But patient people dare to stay where they are. Patient living means to live actively in the present and wait there. Waiting, then, is not passive. It involves nurturing the moment, as a mother nurtures the child that is growing in her.” -Henri Nouwen