A good witness sees so much more in life because of patience….

Patience is a very important attitudinal foundation that both supports and guides our moment to moment work. We’re always trying to get some place else… on the way to… some better moment… some better time when it will all come together… and so often we get driven and become impatient.

The reality is that things unfold in their own time, and so patience is really a wonderful attitude to bring to the practice because the practice is about stepping out of time altogether. When we’re talking about the present moment,we are talking about “now”- we’re talking about outside of clock time. We’ve all had moments like that, in fact we have nothing but moments like that, but we ignore almost all of them. It’s every once in a while that we will have a moment where time stops for us in either ecstasy or in tragedy- and it is through the practice of mindfulness,where we can learn how to step out of time and capture more of our moments- more moments and time in being human. In essence, the more moments we tend to miss, the faster our journey takes us through life.

Each day take a moment and just sit… just listen… just be still… and most importantly, be intimate with each moment. An intimacy with time and with one’s moments only follows from being patient. The butterfly will eventually unfold from its chrysalis, but you must remain patient for this moment to happen- and if you cannot make the time, then you will surely miss this beautiful moment. Can you relate to other precious moments that may have just passed you by in your life? Step out and step into being more patient.You will be amazed with what you will now see…

A sense of patience in this mindfulness practice also refers to an openness and willingness to welcome our direct experience with things as they are… a sense of forbearance as we are letting go of our ego-referenced versions of how things should be. We are simply abiding by our experiences with non-aggression as we are not pushing away or rejecting situations that may threaten ego and its view of reality. The idea here is to be fully present with our experiences- clearly feeling and touching their flavor and texture- before deciding what we will do next. Ultimately, we want to respond appropriately and usefully, not reactively.

In the beginning, it is best to practice and apply our patience with small inconveniences. With time and practice, we can skillfully apply patience and forbearance to many different situations that appear to “charge” our habitual aggressiveness to protect what we assume to threaten our conceptual sense of self or reality.

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