“When you find peace in the waiting"
I find nothing more patient than a tree on the brink of blossoming. After shedding its leaves and remaining dormant all winter, the tree has built up enormous potential energy. It’s about to spring back to life any day… but that day just hasn’t come yet. This is how I feel at the end of winter: a deep restlessness that I can feel even in my bones. Collectively, this energy of restless exhaustion is so prevalent after a year of lockdown and COVID-19. So many of us are tired of feeling restless. Tired of feeling numb. Tired of feeling in general.
I feel so ready for spring. So ready for some kind of change. And yet the wisdom of the dormant tree asks me to remain patient. But why? What use is patience when it feels like all we have done this past year is wait. Wait for life to begin. Wait for the pandemic to end. Wait for things to go back to “normal”. Constantly waiting. Is that what patience means?
Patience is making peace with not having immediate results.
More than that, patience is knowing that we have to live through the process. The tree does not give fruits immediately: it waits months or even years to allow its fruits to ripen.
Here is what else I’ve been learning about patience:
We must learn to be okay with waiting.
Waiting is not passive. But it is actively living and cultivating the present. Knowing that the way we are now, in the present moment, is what will determine the fruits of our future.
Patience is to make peace with time.
Not to fight it or compete with it. But to welcome it like an old friend. To enjoy and cultivate the in-between moments.
Patience is knowing that the blossoms will still come.
The birds will sing. The animals wake up after a long slumber and the sun shines its warmth on us again. Even after the longest winter, we can still have faith that spring will come.
In the words of Debbie Millman, “expect anything worthwhile to take a long time.” All of our endeavors are significant. But to expect immediate results will lead to frustration. And to know that some of our most significant contributions -- raising a child, planting a garden, creating a business, building a home, etc. -- will take patience. A flower doesn’t go from bud to blossom overnight. However, in our society, we overly emphasize only the results. But the real work is in witnessing and living through our own slow, diligent ripening.
In an age of mass distractions and instant gratification, our biggest act of rebellion can be to simply take our time.
To enjoy the simple pleasure of just being. To accept the moment as it is without needing to rush it. To not expect things to have to satisfy us immediately -- but to be okay with waiting for things to unfold as they are meant to.
We put so much value on only the results that we forget the wisdom of living through the process. We don’t need to live life in immediacy. We can allow life to unfold. We can be like the tree: diligently ripening while faithfully knowing the harvest will come.
This week's creative prompt:
Patience is the key to growth. What areas in your life are you patiently waiting for something to grow?
For your sketchbook:
Draw 4 potted plants on your paper. Label each one with a seed of intention. Perhaps you are planting the intention of acceptance, humility, patience and creativity. Draw out different plans that grow from each seed of intention.