waiting and patience
"Not every one of our desires can be immediately gratified. We've got to
learn to wait patiently for our dreams to come true, especially on the path
we've chosen. But while we wait, we need to prepare symbolically a place
for our hopes and dreams.... The delay of our dreams does not mean that
they have been denied."
-- Sarah Ban Breathnach, "Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort
and Joy"
And so I wait. Or am I? I'm not sure. I'm waiting/trying to be patient, but I think I'm not clear on what I'm waiting for -- for the longest time I thought there was nothing to wait/hope for, and I gave up dreaming about the future. My thoughts revolved I think may be I'm waiting for the time I form a clear picture of what I want, then I'll wait some more while I work on making it happen.
The last sentence of that quote reminds me of the story Jenny W. told me back when I had to take my leave of absence from UCSC. I cannot tell the story as well as she can, but I'll try to paraphrase:
Here is the story of a man who wanted to reach a certain destination. He carefully planned out the shortest and most direct path to this goal. The route he planned included climbing over a fence that stood between him and his goal. He knew that with effort, he could climb over this fence and continue walking on the other side to reach his goal. However, as he neared the fence, he slipped on a rock and twisted his ankle. He could no longer climb the fence with his hurt leg. The man was determined to get to his goal, so he made crutches and started to hobble along the fence to find an opening to the other side. Along the way, he saw many different sights and experienced things he never would have experienced had he taken the shortest route. Finally, he finds an opening in the fence. By then his ankle is healed and he is a wiser person with many experiences to share. He is happy when he reaches his goal. He made it to where he wanted to be--it just took a little bit longer than he had originally planned.
I need to keep reminding myself about the meaning of this story when I get frustrated that I am not yet where I want to be.
learn to wait patiently for our dreams to come true, especially on the path
we've chosen. But while we wait, we need to prepare symbolically a place
for our hopes and dreams.... The delay of our dreams does not mean that
they have been denied."
-- Sarah Ban Breathnach, "Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort
and Joy"
And so I wait. Or am I? I'm not sure. I'm waiting/trying to be patient, but I think I'm not clear on what I'm waiting for -- for the longest time I thought there was nothing to wait/hope for, and I gave up dreaming about the future. My thoughts revolved I think may be I'm waiting for the time I form a clear picture of what I want, then I'll wait some more while I work on making it happen.
The last sentence of that quote reminds me of the story Jenny W. told me back when I had to take my leave of absence from UCSC. I cannot tell the story as well as she can, but I'll try to paraphrase:
Here is the story of a man who wanted to reach a certain destination. He carefully planned out the shortest and most direct path to this goal. The route he planned included climbing over a fence that stood between him and his goal. He knew that with effort, he could climb over this fence and continue walking on the other side to reach his goal. However, as he neared the fence, he slipped on a rock and twisted his ankle. He could no longer climb the fence with his hurt leg. The man was determined to get to his goal, so he made crutches and started to hobble along the fence to find an opening to the other side. Along the way, he saw many different sights and experienced things he never would have experienced had he taken the shortest route. Finally, he finds an opening in the fence. By then his ankle is healed and he is a wiser person with many experiences to share. He is happy when he reaches his goal. He made it to where he wanted to be--it just took a little bit longer than he had originally planned.
I need to keep reminding myself about the meaning of this story when I get frustrated that I am not yet where I want to be.