The Art and Blessing of Waiting

Today take some time to remember the disenfranchised women and girls around the world.
As always, faith with ACTION is even better!
International Women’s Day – Thursday, March 8th, 2012

THE ART AND BLESSING OF WAITING
This is partly excerpted from The Institute of Heartmath. It is chock full of wonderful information and well worth the time to peruse.

Adopt the pace of nature: Her secret is patience."
—Ralph Waldo Emerson—

"Life unfolds in spite of our impatience. The misfortune of it is that because of our impatience we don’t fully appreciate the joy and beauty of watching it unfold. And then there’s all the stress and discontentment along the way.

Impatience, it is clear, is not an emotion that befalls only an unfortunate few. It may be true that there is a lot of impatience in some people, but there is a little impatience in all people.

Institute of HeartMath Founder Doc Childre characterizes patience as "the art of intelligent waiting" – waiting with purpose, positive intention and a sincere belief that waiting is an important element in the unfolding of all things.

"Patience is the practice of maintaining a state of inner ease and resilience when you are tempted to be impatient," Childre said, "especially when the mind wants to force results, rather than remain in flow. Although we may not always consciously acknowledge when we have slipped into impatience, this emotion certainly is not an involuntary one. There is no reason we cannot opt to be patient or impatient in myriad situations throughout our busy days.

Remember, the presence of sincere patience means the absence of so many byproducts of impatience: negative emotions like anger, disappointment, frustration and blame among others. Rather than draining yourself and creating negative energy, you can increase your energy and resilience. Sincere patience means approaching situations with a positive attitude, care, understanding and genuine allowance."

I agree that waiting is crucial to life unfolding. Everything from planting to harvest, conception to birth, and idea to action happens in patiently waiting. Yet, there is another important component. "Let us run with patience the race that is set before us..." Hebrews 12:1 (Bible) This scripture is about Jesus doing God's work while under the greatest burden any human has ever endured. What is the kind of patience that runs? It is persevering when your heart is heavy. It is holding to hope in the face of loss and disappointment. It is following your heart and conviction despite the naysayers. It is never letting go of the dream - even if it is years in the making.

Watch and wait - and keep running!
Blessings,
Beth