It Will All Get Done…With Patience

We have had flooding in our studios and gallery, and it is dry now. Yet it is almost two weeks later and we are still waiting for the repairs to the baseboards and floors to be completed. It takes patience. We have multiple home projects in process, with drywall showing, items stacked/stored in various rooms of the house, so it feels like a mess. It takes patience. We have a few outdoor updates we want to do, and the weather is much colder than normal so we are waiting…which takes patience. Not to mention the ‘new year’ to do items we have given ourselves, the daily tasks that are not getting done due to all the messes, and the art projects we had in process before the flood. You get it, it takes patience.

I found this Dutch proverb and like what it had to say as a reminder that patience trumps brains every time. No matter how you plan or prepare, patience is always the number one element what making changes or updates…or even dealing with the curve balls life throws your way. I had fun figuring out how to make the word patience different that just regular text, turning and twisting the layout to still be legible, while forcing us all to be patient as we read that word. It took me multiple designs until I landed on this one…which of course, took patience. Of all the attributes we humans must employ, patience seems to be one of the toughest. We have phones that buzz all the time, websites where we can buy anything we can think of, our calendars prompt us for appointments, and anyone who has our phone number can text us at any time which implies that we need to answer right away. None of that technology or instant access helps us develop or employ patience. So when we are forced to be patient, it can feel excruciating.

What if we flipped that around and handled our trying moments as an opportunity to build more patience rather than allowing them to annoy us? As I stepped over paint cans, uninstalled lamps, tax documents and household gobbledy-gook, I was reminded that I can choose to employ patience or be annoyed by the need to exercise patience. Today I choose to employ and grow my patience. Give myself a stress break AND take it all in stride. I take a deep breathe and focus on the fact that it will all get done, just not in my energetic, compressed timeline. Which means I am not in control of the my universe…what!?! Who knew? Okay, we all know that! Patience forces us to remember this and know that life does not come with a magic wand or a mystical genie in a bottle. We can do what we can do, do it well, then must wait as things take longer or we need help from others who are working in their own timeline.

So, today I am growing my patience by being patient. Patient with day to day to do items, myself, my expectations, with others, and with the weather. Okay, with life in general. Let me encourage you to do the same. Give people a break, give yourself a break, give your life the opportunity to grow patience AND know that it will all get done…with patience!