Hi. My name is Christopher Foster. Welcome to The Happy Seeker. It's my hope that it may touch a chord of true happiness, inner peace and well-being in you that will bless you and enrich your life. Power of patience critical to lasting happiness
July 15th, 2010 by
The power of patience is all too easily overlooked in our fast paced culture. But it’s absolutely critical to lasting happiness and inner peace.
True, with more and more people demanding immediate gratification it might seem patience has become obsolete.
But whatever your age, and whatever your life situation, nurturing this calm and noble quality will yield the same rich rewards today that it always has throughout the entire run of human history.
Of course, it goes without saying that patience can never really be isolated from any of the other qualities of our own true character. “Patience is the companion of wisdom,” said St. Augustine, and he was absolutely right. Patience needs the balance of wisdom – and it needs the balance of courage too.
Here are 5 reasons why the power of patience is so important in your life.
1. You need the power of patience to fulfill your dreams.
If you are short of patience, even though your dream may be an admirable one, you will simply not have the strength and persistence necessary to sustain you through the inevitable disappointments and setbacks that life brings.
2. You need patience to become whole.
What was true in ages past is still true today. “Let patience have her perfect works, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”
3. Patience is required to fully forgive.
Often, we may think we have forgiven someone – perhaps God himself – for some past injustice, but then the pain and resentment rise up in us again. Do we give up, and allow negative emotions to fester freely in us until we die?
Or do we summon the Angel of patience to our aid and forgive at a deeper level?
4. Patience makes it possible to see another person in a truer light.
It takes time and perseverance to see through our first impressions — which may or may not be all that accurate – and come to know the real person behind the outer mask.
5. The power of patience nourishes all other human virtues.
As St. Augustine suggested, if we want to develop wisdom, we will need the help of its companion, patience. Or how about compassion? Perhaps some people are born with naturally compassionate natures — but it’s my guess that even compassion needs the nourishment of patience at times.
Perhaps patience is in my mind at the moment because JoAnn and I are still hard at work making improvements to our new home. Fortunately the well of patience hasn’t run dry yet…
If you have a story to share concerning the power of patience in your life I’d love to hear it. If you enjoyed this article, please consider subscribing to my blog.
Picture credit: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/61/218202579_679ffa0720_m.jpg
Great one, dad. Thanks for posting this! I am aware that the Dalai Lama talks about patience as an antidote to anger, allowing us to endure those who might otherwise be perceived as enemies. His example extraordinary in this regard!!!
Thanks Durwin. I appreciate the reference to the Dalai Lama and how patience can help us deal with anger. As you say he has certainly proved all this in his own living hasn’t he? Very inspiring. Blessings to you — and blessings to the Dalai too.
all those points are useful and well said
thanks for sharing that post
And thank you Farouk for stopping by and for your kind comment. All the very best.
Patience is a true gift and I find that as I develop patience, I develop tolerance and compassion. Many years ago as a social work student, I was sent on a placement to a care home for adults with learning difficulties. My role was to promote independence and dignity and to encourage. I had to do a project, so I decided to ‘teach’ two of the residents how to make pizza and salad. At times, the overwhelming desire to take over was hard to keep in check. I wanted to slice the mushrooms properly, chop the onion more quickly etc etc. but I didn’t. I allowed the 2 people to work at their own pace. When the pizzas came out of the oven, they were so excited, it was the first time they had ever been given opportunity to cook. I learned so much from them and that by practising my patience, I could encourage 2 other people to blossom.
I have gone on to lecture in social care, and I always tell students that one of the core values is patience, becasue by exercising patience we are practising acceptance of others and therefore acceptance of God’s world.
What a beautiful story Juliana. Thank you so much for sharing it. I’m sure it was hard at times to keep your “cool” and stay patient but what a lovely outcome, I can pretty well ‘smell’ the fresh pizza coming out of the oven even though it did all happen long ago as you say…
Dear Chris, this so lovely. as well as timely for me. With my book coming out in Sept. I often find myself impatient with the amount of work I have to do. So #1 here really resonated with me. All the others I seem to live more easily, but #1 is a lesson I need to learn now. It is a lesson in letting go and realizing that some things are larger than I can handle myself. So I have to let go and trust that all is perfect and that the universe will give me the breathing room I need if I trust in its perfection. And that it will in fact sustain me much better.
Love these words: “If you are short of patience, even though your dream may be an admirable one, you will simply not have the strength and persistence necessary to sustain you through the inevitable disappointments and setbacks that life brings.” Or the sustain the necessary energy to make it a long term dream.
We all need rest, time out, time for contemplation. So now I learn trust, and that all is perfect, and what is needed will get done; I learn to let go.
Thank you dear soul. Your words are beautiful and so soothing. I am grateful. Big hugs to you, Robin
PS: I also LOVE this one: “You need patience to become whole.” That is a keeper, and says it all!! Wow!
Thank you Robin. Your words always land in a deep place in me. I really appreciate you sharing your precious spirit in this way at my blog and I wish you every success with your new book. What is the title of it going to be? Is it about your experiences in Nature and the wilds?
Hi Christopher,
I found you through Change Your Thoughts. Patience is the key to most things in life. We can’t expect to plant a seed and demand a tree the very moment.
We need patience to gain what we had sowed.
Cheers,
Vincent
Part of the attributes of love is patience and if we are truly to love our neighbours the way we love ourself then we will have to exercise a lot of patience. Especially in marriage. Patience is a true virtue and those who have the virtue will reap its rewards. If only people could learn to be more patient instead of expecting instant results, they will eventually get the outcome they want. Great post
Such a pleasure to hear from you Paul. Thankyou very much for your comment and for enlarging on this topic the way you did. Every good wish to you.
Thank you Vincent. As you say, if we put a seed in the ground we don’t expect it to sprout overnight, and it’s the same when it comes to our own lives.
Hi Chris, Yes, my book IS about my time in the wild, in the Daintree rainforest of Queensland Australia when I was younger. It is a story of self-discover, healing and wild adventure. It is the title of my blog. “Naked in Eden: My Adventure and Awakening in the Australian Rainforest.” I am touched that you asked. It will be in the stores and on Amazon Sept 1, 2010….just over a month away!!!
Thank you dear Chris! Hugs, Robin
That’s great news about your book Robin. Thankyou for sharing it. What an adventure it must have been writing it. And now the adventure of seeing it given birth… I am very happy for you and for all those who will be blessed by it. And while it’s only a “virtual” hug unfortunately I’d like to give you a hug back if I may…