Today's
Meditation:
We
have become very impatient people. Usually we want a
problem solved the moment it arises in our lives, and we get
upset if something takes a little bit longer to take care of
than we expected or wanted. We want our kids to change
their attitudes now, we want our jobs to get better today,
and we expect this person to do this task immediately.
In our impatience, though, we very often miss the solutions
that life has in mind because we rush things and we don't
allow them to take their natural course.
When
I have problem students, I usually wait at least a couple of
weeks before trying to address problematic behaviors (unless
they're threatening to me or others, of course). I
find in almost all of the cases that the problems don't
exist after a while because both the student and I have
changed our perspectives--I've learned more about them, and
they've learned more about me. If we do need to
address the issue, we've had enough time to truly understand
the issues involved, and we're not dealing with anything on
a truly superficial level.
Sometimes,
if we wait, we find out that what we think is a problem
isn't one at all, especially if we wait to see how the
"problem" plays out. Many people have been
devastated to find out that a loved one is leaving them,
only to find out later, after the mud has settled, that the
separation is a very positive thing for both parties
involved. One who acts impatiently will try to fix the
situation immediately or start to feel sorry for themselves
or even try to get back at the person who's leaving.
Patience, though, allows us to accept the situation and then
wait to see how it plays out--and what kinds of things life
gives to us even as it seems to be taking from us.
Let
the mud settle. Then you can see clearly through the
water to the bottom of the river or the pond, and see
exactly what the issues are. Reaching into muddy water
usually only stirs up more mud and causes it to take much
longer to settle, and it could be dangerous reaching in
somewhere that you can't see clearly. Be patient, and
realize that life's time and our time are not necessarily
the same thing.
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