None of us wants to have to suffer through physical, emotional, or spiritual hardships. But when such trials do come—and they most likely will, for each life has its measure of sorrow—we have two choices: to rail endlessly against what is happening or to experience our feelings of sorrow, fear, and anger, then engage our patience and allow the chal

It’s a combination of motivation (wanting to), awareness (paying attention to our inner landscape), and cultivation (practicing).

when we see those who challenge us as teachers rather than burdens, our patience instantly grows.

Through this acceptance of others as they are, and of life as it is showing up right now, we prove our true strength and beauty as human beings. It’s easy to be accepting when all is well. But when we are patient when things aren’t going the way we want, we truly shine as heroes.

One reason for this is that a synonym for patience is self-possession. I love that word; it helps me remember that, with patience, we are in charge of our selves. We can choose how to respond to a given event, rather than being hijacked by our emotions.

All this stimulation and outward attention has one effect: to make everything a blur and to create a sense of mental restlessness that is the antithesis of patience. David Shenk writes about this in The End of Patience: “As we go to higher info altitudes, where the information moves faster . . . our eyes, ears, and cerebral cortexes have more to ke

Patience is something you admire in the driver behind you, but not in the one ahead.

By opening our hearts to the people and things that challenge us, we become spiritually and emotionally supple, less prone to being knocked over by whatever curves life throws at us. Difficult people and events become interesting opportunities for further growth, rather than threatening obstacle courses we must endure. From this place, we actually

The beauty of the decision for patience is that it doesn’t matter how impatient we consider ourselves to be. We will always have another opportunity to choose! In whatever circumstance we find ourselves right now, we are free to choose peaceableness. Each and every day, moment by moment, the decision is yours.