Patience Creates Happiness

How to stay Happy in 2016 ~

Hi EveryOne,

Happy New Year! I hope you’re all starting the new year with a happy, positive and self empowered outlook. I don’t know about you but December for me was a bit of a blur. Moving into a place that turned out less clean than we were assured, was a rather big challenge for my body (and patience). And as you know, we’ve been living on the road for five years so we had no furniture other than our camping table and chairs. And though ‘setting a base’ for a while is another exciting new chapter for us, I like to live simply. So finding items like a washing machine, to a fridge, to a lawn mower, to a bed…… (on a budget, in between cleaning and around Christmas time when everyone is rushing) definitely tested both of us…

But you know, peace of mind is my highest priority – not just because it’s nice to feel peaceful but it helps me manage chronic pain and enables me to contribute peace (as opposed to stress) into the ether. The more calm I am within, the less pain I experience and the more I’m helping the environment – everyone wins. Stress has long been an unwelcome guest in my home (and I make every effort to keep it out) but taking our eye of the ball, there it was sneakily creeping back in – it only takes a momentary lack of attention! Leaving things to follow their natural course, allows for patience and breathing to be more readily available. No forcing or speculating or bated breath for any kind of completion – just trusting and letting things flow while letting things go – was a good reminder and lesson. Not patience as in enduring life through clenched teeth, but understanding and accepting that there’s a reason and a season for everything in the world. When we understand and accept that we cannot control the world around us (the weather, what others do or don’t do) it becomes more apparent what keeps us happy 🙂 No expectations and no attachments helps reduce fear, anxiety, anger, depression and frustration. The more attached to situations, to outcomes, to possessions or to positions in life, the more stress we create for ourselves and those around us – no thanks!

There are certain situations in life that take more time, so practicing patience helps us to stay happy … Time to learn lessons about some deeply ingrained habits. Time for lessons to be revealed. Time to accept life as it is. Time to heal, to blossom, to expand, to evolve and to mature – without force or manipulation… And if we understand and accept that life has a way of balancing everything out (one way or another) then happiness becomes easier to maintain. Patience is like a river that changes shape as often as there are minutes in a day – to try and control it would not only be impractical, it would unleash much stress, disappointment and anger. If we don’t practice the art of patience (which is just one of our vast pool of inner powers) we won’t give life permission to follow its own natural course and we remain unhappy. And chances are that we will continue to enforce our own beliefs and impatience, and resist the natural flow of life (and all the cycles within her). It’s interesting how as individuals, we still think that we can avoid or interrupt or control change – the best we can try for is to gently harness it – because change is inevitable! It’s the only constant in life so resistance is futile, to resist is to inflict unnecessary pain and confusion onto ourselves and onto those around us. Acceptance is therefore invaluable and keeps us happy! 

Working (a bit at a time) to get my veggie garden established, allowed me to remember the well of patience within – of tolerance, of silence, of discernment, of love … This empowered me to let go of control (of what I can’t control) and restore self control 🙂 So instead of living from day to day ‘treading water’ allowing the world to play us like puppets in distress, lets each take a breath before rushing into 2016. Lets each of us pause for a moment to see what we’ve really learnt from the lessons brought to us in 2015. Lets stop pointing the finger of blame outside ourselves and lets stop judging. Instead, lets look within for that treasure store of inner strength – you know we each have it, right?  So I thought it might be fun to share 25 inspiring quotes on patience to help you rethink the way you live your life. And as Robin Sharma says – “Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life”. So enjoy and may the new year keep you open to change and patience, for maintaining happiness and peace 🙂

1. Patience is not just about waiting for something… it’s about how you wait, or your attitude while waiting – Joyce Meyer

2. Learn the art of patience. Apply discipline to your thoughts when they become anxious over the outcome of a goal. Impatience breeds anxiety, fear, discouragement and failure. Patience creates confidence, decisiveness, and a rational outlook, which eventually leads to success – Brian Adams

3. Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy –  Saadi

4.  Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm – Publilius Syrus

5.  Our patience will achieve more than our force – Edmund Burke

6.  We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world – Helen Keller

7.  Patience is the support of weakness; impatience the ruin of strength – Charles Caleb Colton

8. Sometimes things aren’t clear right away. That’s where you need to be patient and persevere to see where things lead – Mary Pierce

9. Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come –  Robert H. Schuller

10. Never cut what can be untied – Portuguese Proverb

11.  Our real blessings often appear to us in the shape of pains, losses and disappointments; but let us have patience and we soon shall see them in their proper figures – Joseph Addison

12. The keys to patience are acceptance and faith. Accept things as they are and look realistically at the world around you. Have faith in yourself and in the direction you have chosen – Ralph Marston

13. The continuous drip polishes the stone – Peruvian (on patience)

14. Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow – that is patience – Unknown

15. With love and patience, nothing is impossible – Daisaku Ikeda

16. “Don’t cross the bridge til you come to it – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

17. Have patience, my friend, have patience; For Rome wasn’t built in a day! You wear yourself out for nothing – in many and many a way! Why are you nervous and fretty when things do not move along fast; Why let yourself get excited over things that will soon be the past? – Gertrude Tooley Buckingham

18. Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars, to change the world – Harriet Tubman

19. Patience doesn’t mean making a pact with the devil of denial, ignoring our emotions and aspirations. It means being wholeheartedly engaged in the process that’s unfolding, rather than ripping open a budding flower or demanding a caterpillar hurry up and get that chrysalis stage over with – Sharon Salzburg

20. When things begin accelerating wildly out of control, sometimes patience is the only answer. Press pause – Douglas Rushkoff

21. Patience is the companion of wisdom – Saint Augustine

22. The more you know yourself, the more patience you have for what you see in others – Erik Erikson

23. Negative thinking patterns can be immensely deceptive and persuasive, and change is rarely easy. But with patience and persistence, I believe that nearly all individuals suffering from depression can improve and experience a sense of joy and self-esteem once again – David D. Burns

24. No one can occupy your generosity except you. Who can occupy your patience when impatience roars through you? Who except you can choose not to act with judgment when all of your thoughts are judgmental? Your life is yours to live, no matter how you choose to live it. When you do not think about how you intend to live it, it lives you – Gary Zukav

25. When you have a dream that you can’t let go of, trust your instincts and pursue it. But remember: Real dreams take work. They take patience and sometimes they require you to dig down very deep. Be sure you’re willing to do that – Harvey Mackay

Question:  What have I learnt from 2015 that I refuse to carry into 2016?

Contemplation: Have I really changed something (no matter how small) or am I already starting the new year with the same attitude as last year?

Action:  From today, make every effort to stop and breathe. Each time you catch yourself stepping onto that rollercoaster of stress, STOP! BREATHE! Say CANCEL! CANCEL! And change direction (do something else) even for a little while. This helps break patterns of self destructive behaviour.

Lots of love, Annemarie