Patience is a…Skill!

Yes, yes, we all know the old saying, Patience is a Virtue. But it’s also a skill too. Master patience and anything is possible, especially finding peace in your life. To be impatient is literally like trying to squirm out of the present and into the future. Good luck with that. All you’ll accomplish is shredded nerves, a racing heart, and stress hormones streaking through your body. Writhe and holler as much as you want. You are here, and frankly that’s where you’re supposed to be!

The Tarot has card dedicated to patience and adaptation aptly called Temperance. It stands for self-control, and suggests the need to adapt and cooperate with surrounding conditions. When this card appears in a reading, its lesson is to have patience with others; work with them and not against them. Temperance tells you to go with the flow, rather than be drowned by uncertainty. Let’s be honest, it’s great advice to be told to stop and smell the roses for a change!

To learn patience gives you the freedom to have a pleasant time even when the traffic gods are playing with you. And the more you can integrate impersonal and compassionate feelings into a situation, the better the outcome. Here are some techniques to help you convert the helpless rage of impatience into a delightful sense of spaciousness:

• Just stop. Catch the mind ranting that you shouldn’t be in this situation – because you are. Give up the fight. It’s not worth it. You’ve lost the battle, but not the war.

•Settle into the moment. You might feel your body ease down, yielding to gravity (a good thing). Your shoulders and tummy relax, your jaw too.

•Go into your body with your mind’s eye. Listen to your body’s language. Are you tight, tense, breathing shallowly, clenching, jiggling? Where? Focus on those sensations as closely as you can. Touch them with your mind.

•See if you can open any tightness. Breathe into any clenching (a yoga technique). And if there’s a really stubborn knot, see if you can welcome it, make room for it.

Once your brain cools down, your powers of reason return. Then it’s go time. You’ve taken it easy and embraced moderation, so go with the flow!