Patience is not simply the ability to wait – it’s how we behave while we’re waiting. – Joyce Meyer

There are a certain universal truths about being human and one of them is that we will all spend a good amount of time in this lifetime waiting. Passing time sounds like it would be a passive sport, but think again for it is anything but that. It can be brutal when you find yourself in those in-between spaces, frustrated, and over-anxious because you know that you have no control. Desperately wanting a glimpse into that fortune tellers all-knowing ball you have no choice but to white knuckle it some days. It’s not an easy path to walk for those of us who like to have everything under control. You do realize that control is usually a reaction to fear (and even if you do realize this, it can still be a struggle). Waiting, simply put, is not a game for the faint of heart.

We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.  – Joseph Campbell

Most of you already know all of this. This is the part of being human that I find a drag. We continuously to try to control the outcome of things even when we say we aren’t. Deep inside we are plotting as though our thoughts, if focused intensely enough can manipulate the outcome in our favor. Actually, I do believe that is possible for us to manifest outcomes, but do you really want to spend your life trying to telepathically create your entire life, one event at a time? I know that I’d personally rather glide forward with a sense of intention and hope in my heart for the days to come. I think am way too laid back to be spending so much energy everyday trying to “create” the outcomes that I want instead of allowing things to flow. A laid-back control freak? Yes, I see the irony here. (And I prefer to think of myself as “reformed” as opposed to “freak” currently). We really have no idea how things are going to roll out, but we certainly can learn to be a little more open-minded to the bigger picture of our life, can’t we? The options are endless and yet we can so easily latch onto the idea that only one outcome to a situation is the right one, and if it doesn’t happen the way we want it to then we are going to explode! I know this because it is one of many lessons that I have learned from my walk on this planet thus far.

The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.   – Bertrand Russell

Some people call time the school in which we learn. I can’t argue with that. Time is the only sure thing I know that can bring true levity to a situation. Perhaps it’s meant to be this way. I believe that the act of waiting teaches us so very much. This is the one lesson I have been working on most my life. Even as far back as I can remember my mother would repeat to me day in and day out, “Ella you need to learn patience and once you do things are going to be easier for you.” Life can be a cruel teacher in that regard. I have paid my dues in the waiting rooms of life over many times over.  It’s not that it gets easier because most of us are born with an innate sense of avid curiosity, and thank God for that or our species wouldn’t have gotten very far (debatable I know), but there is a tempering that needs to be learned if we are to find balance. At the heart of the issue I think is the inability to truly be content with what we have in the moment. Isn’t that what we are all waiting for after all? Fulfillment? We are all waiting…it could be the return of a lover, a phone call, a new job, your final exam grade or money…the list can go on and on and on. It’s not easy to have patience and faith which is why they are considered virtues. This is what life teaches us and we all have choices to make in regards to how we choose to frame our days. Life is happening all around us and the truly living are reacting to it, and not sitting around like wall flowers waiting to be picked. After a while you will grow tired of the incessant internal rambling and stressing, and I hope you ultimately choose to lay it down. While I strongly believe that we need to take an active role in the navigation of our lives I also know that this will one day pass and what we are looking at is infinite. Far greater than we can ever imagine here in this mortal coil. The space between here and there or between me and you is an illusion in the end. Time is just a way to measure our lives here. Lose the watch and accept that being in the moment is so much better than waiting for the next one to happen. Peace of mind is where you can rise above it all, the schedules, the wants, and the daily grind to find that all is well in that moment.   xo Ella 

When you’ve seen beyond yourself, then you may find, peace of mind is waiting there.  – George Harrison