Virtue Patience
Saboteur Anger
Patience is another word for inner strength.
We appreciate your patience this month, as we are planning to share the video for ‘Patience’ in the next week or so.
Be patient! Don’t tell me to be patient! You’re trying my patience! Why do I always have to be the patient one? I’m tired of being patient!
Have you ever noticed that patience is the only virtue we tend to express impatiently? It’s also ironic that patience requires tremendous inner strength and it’s perceived as a weakness! Patience is self control, while anger can be the loss of self control. As we practice peace, we realize that the practice itself is the antidote for disruptive feelings that range from the slightly annoying, to regrettable outbursts. This practice of peace restores balance, giving us the strength to even move through stone cold resentment. Practice is what everyday miracles are made from.
Without practice, we let anger in and it tends to have its way with us. Our bodies begin to fall in line with heated thoughts and hot tempered arguments. When anger goes beyond the tipping point, we stand tall and big, jutting our head and clenching our jaw. Our eyes grow large and blood rushes into them, making us see red. Adrenalin moves through us like an electrically charged river of warmth and power, flooding our skin with intense sensation. Finally, our mind becomes hot and impulsive, our words fly like lightening. Then the anger subsides and we’re left to contend with the hangover. You know, the shakes, the energy drain, the fitful sleep and of course, the regrets.
In that initial moment of anger we feel right and strong and that feeling is preferable to the feelings of sadness you really have. With sadness, there isn’t the adrenalin rush of anger that seems to chase away the dark gray clouds. Our bodies respond to sadness by turning inwards, we have faraway eyes, we’re drained and sleepy, but never well rested. When we feel sad, we will often transfer our feelings from our saddened heart to a hardened heart. We sometimes see this when grief is present. It’s natural and understandable to feel the rise and fall of both these emotions. Patience respects the time we need to cool down and process. There is a time and place for sadness and
for anger and it’s also good to learn to temper these emotions with the grace of inner strength.
Patience is sweet composure. On the battlefield of everyday life we will meet with minor skirmishes, giving us the opportunity to practice inner strength. Take it, practice self restraint, get strong. If we don’t practice patience, we will find ourselves word wrestling with others and this can lead to regrettable experiences. When someone fires harsh words at us, our minds burn and we fire back. When we mindfully practice patience while facing adversity, we will be empowered with greater integrity and confidence. This is what the presence of peace feels like.
Each time you choose to stand sure footed, open hearted and clear minded, you foster inner strength. This strength can be used for any virtuous quality you want to express; like patience, kindness or peace. Inner strength is self control. Anger is contagious and we need a strong immune system not to catch the fever. Consciously dosing yourself with patience twice a day builds a strong mind. Get strong, get patient and get good work done.
Peace be with you. Namaste