Patience is a...

I have often been accused (yes, ACCUSED!!!) of being very patient. Most often by people who only know me peripherally in some way. So lets dispell this myth right here and now.

If any doubts just make me go grocery shopping: The land where people walk in the door and stop just there to get their bearings without thought to who else needs to use the door; where people will stop right at the entrance to an aisle and check their list without making room for anyone to pass by; where no matter what you need to grab from a shelf someone is always there taking time to ponder geological activity before they make their selection. Do you wait the interminable time for them to figure out their next step? Or do you get in there with a quick excuse me and grab-n-go? Need I say more? I think you get my point...

But just what is patience in this context? The flow of time and what I need to accomplish? In a nutshell, yes. So naturally the complete lack of flow will become frustrating. I am a quick learner, and doer once there is something to get accomplished. And shopping is my kryptonite anyway as there is very little I ever need to shop for.

But there is another aspect here that I do think is as important, if not more so, than the time flow. That is acceptance. It connotes not just how long to wait for something, but a mindset that is ok with what is happening, or not happening, right now. It's a quality that is much easier for me to work with. Why I find it easier is that there does not need to be any deep understanding and/or goal before encountering any circumstance. Simply an attitude that says it's OK for this to be arising in this moment, even if I have no control over it. Or if I don't particularly like it. The time flow is not truly relevant since you're looking in the moment as much as possible. You aren't casting forward (as in soonly-sight) or even gauging past circumstance (hinder-sight, remember?) so you simply accept. Then the edge may be off for a moment and you can then ask, "what is actually happening?" From there you can see what comes next.

For me the business world requires alot of this kind of acceptance. As mentioned I am waiting for a new venture to begin and it has taken several more months than the principals thought. So I am hanging out on a limb, or in my van, or in my clinic... hoping that plans come through. Definitely lots of soonly-sightedness that I try to temper with this acceptance. And when I feel like freaking out I can often see that those feelings are based in hinder-sight from past failed attempts. But what have we always said about karma larma ding dong? You just never really know how things play out, much less why. So it is reasonable to hope for success in the meantime of waiting for reality to catch up with your intentions.

For now though, don't go shopping if you don't have to. Or unless you love it. Then I definitely won't understand... but hey, I can accept your wierdness! :)