Patience. Not exactly one of my strengths. But at the moment I need to have patience more than ever. As I’m writing this blog post, my left leg rests on a stool with a cooling pad on my knee. Ten days ago, I had to undergo surgery to fix a meniscus tear that had impaired me for a while. I was quite positive after the pre-operation talks with the Doctor and thought within two weeks, I would be back to normal. Ten days later, I’m not. And here’s where “patience” comes in, as some things – as the healing of my operated knee – need time to build.
Do we have to be patient anymore?
So what is patience exactly? The quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like. At least that’s what the dictionary says.
Needless to say, patience doesn’t come easily to most of us and it’s probably harder now to be patient than it has ever been. In today’s world of ‘instant everything’, technological advancements have allowed us to obtain, experience, and consume practically anything we want – almost immediately. We hardly have to be patient anymore.
But if we don’t have another choice, then being patient is a practice that takes a lot of effort.
During the past days I was upset that I’m not making a faster progress. I was upset that I couldn’t stretch and bend my knee like I wanted. I was frustrated that I missed all the Fashion Week shows I was invited to. I thought about my Yoga practice and that I’m far away from getting back onto my mat and start my routine. I was really impatient with myself and my body and didn’t notice that I’m already in the middle of a Yoga practice. Isn’t Yoga all about cultivating patience? About listening to your body, treating your body and mind with respect and not fighting with yourself or with unrealistic expectations (or any expectations at all)? For me, learning to be patient is probably a bigger challenge in my life as a yogi than any Asana could be.
Have patience but don’t be patient
I found a blog post with the title “Have patience but don’t be patient” and really like the idea behind it:
The idea that everything takes time is accompanied by the belief that you have no control over any manifestation process and that patience is required in all things. It is true that some things take time, as energy must flow through density in the manifestation process. But patience is not a matter of waiting until you receive a result, it is a process of alignment, acceptance, and expansion that is guided by your intention. You must have patience to allow density to become matter, but the belief that you must ‘be patient’ reduces the power of your intention and your ability to manage the energy flows.
You are a co-creator of every reality on the earth, including your own, those you share with the collective of humanity, and the earth. Use your creative power to share your highest frequencies by having patience with the process as you guide the energy towards its most perfect outcome. But don’t ‘be patient’ and believe that you are waiting for another power to give you permission to create. Use patience to manage the energy flow and movement to its most powerful creation.
This means I don’t have to be patient as in just sitting there and waiting for my knee to heal. There are many things I can do to support and nurture the healing process. It might still take longer than I wish until I’m back to normal. But instead of getting angry and upset, I will rather value the improvements that I’ve already made. I could walk without crutches after four days. I walked (ok, walked with a limp…) on my own to the first sessions of physical therapy. The stairs in my maisonette apartment are no longer an obstacle. And I dared to go on my Yoga mat yesterday! Of course, I could only to some seated stretches, twists and a shoulder stand (which was quite relieving), and the main difficulty was how get down and also up again. But nevertheless, it’s a start.
Patience is not the ability to wait but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.
– Joyce Meyer, Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind
I also found the perfect soundtrack for my next yoga “session”:
It’ll work itself out fine
All we need is just a little patience
