WOMEN: Learning to be Patient

Yesterday, we had a wonderful dialogue on Change, Gratitude and REINVENTING YOURSELF. Read Nina's comment on the linked post. She gives a glimpse into the experience. We will be posting more about it shortly, but it reminded me so much of a writing I did a couple years back that I thought would be timely to share:

It seems the best of us are so impatient for results in our lives. Whether it is the pressures of our career goals, reaching financial stability, finding peace within a busy life, unexpected troubles we want to disapper or sometimes, finding the love and personal security we long for as women. Oh, we want so much for things to happen that sometimes we disturb the process. We push our timetable on things sometimes forcing a premature birth before its time has come. As I write, a few memorable disappointments come to mind when I wished and manipulated circumstances, rushing to the finish. A couple of these decisions led me into heartache and later heartbreak for myself and others. I've also experienced the joy of patience and much prefer the experience and outcome. I've learned that Good things come to those who wait ---- not those who do nothing, but if you keep your actions goal-directed and remain patient for the outcome to materialize as you dream.

In the book Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life by Greg Levoy he tells a story that speaks to this impatience we feel. He writes:

"In his autobiography, Nokos Kazantzakis, author of Zorba the Greek, described an incident in which he came upon a cocoon cradled in the bark of an olive tree just as the butterfly was making a hole and attempting to emerge. Impatient for results, he bent over it and warmed it under his breath, by which he succeeded in speeding up the process. The butterfly, however, emerged prematurely, its wings hopelessly crumpled and stuck to its own body, which needed the sun's patient warmth, not the man's impertinent breath, to transform it. Moments, later, after a desperate struggle, the butterfly died in the palm of his hand. 'That little body," he wrote toward the end of his life, 'is the greatest weight I have on my conscience.'"

As lesson with the butterfly story teaches, we have to learn to trust that all things happen in their own time when our lives are ready to receive the miracles in store for us.

The dream was always running ahead of me.
To catch up, to live for a moment in unison with it,
that was the miracle. 
--- Anais Nin

Has impatience influenced your life?
I would love to know what you've learned.

RELATED POST: WOMEN and the BUTTERFLY: Claim Your Wings

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
founder, Global Dialogue Center
Home of Women in the Lead
Author, Putting Our Differences to Work

Comments

[C. Hampton]

Beautiful. Thank you.

[debbe kennedy]

Thank you too for letting me know, C. Hampton. Debbe