Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. --Rainer Maria Rilke
We carry problems and discrepancies within us, quandaries that are not easily answered - and we have bigger questions about life and the world. Why did I act as I did in my younger years? Can my life partnership be happy again? How should I handle a secret that I carry? What is this thing we call Higher Power and God?
We are on a journey and, in some ways, this journey is a quest for answers. The questions give energy and direction to our seeking. We cannot expect to get quick or easy answers. And some questions will always remain just that: questions. But we can learn to be patient with ourselves, tolerant of our incompleteness, and always curious about how it will all turn out.
Today I will practice patience with myself and embrace my unsolved questions as crucial elements in my quest.
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
I always smile when I see the word 'patience'. It is similar to other words like allowance, forgiveness, tolerance, listening, loving, non-critical or judgment, unconditional, etc.
All of these words were the opposite of how I was as a drunk.
However, all these words have one thing in common. It requires minimum effort.
To explain; to be patient we simply wait. How do we wait? We do nothing.
Unfortunately, for most of us, to do nothing, or don't interfere, is not easy. especially if running on self-will-run-riot mode. But it gets easy on faith mode. We learn to trust we will be okay if things don't go our way.
Acceptance is another word that works well by doing nothing (so to speak).
Just sharing.
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"... unless this person can experience an entire psychic change there is very little hope of recovery." Dr. Silkworth. (Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Ed. p.xxix)
Great share Part VII ... shows a lot of wisdom ... and yes, all of those words you listed are the opposite of how I was drunk too ... and I still need a lot of work in the 'patience' department ... (especially when I have 'car keys' in my hand, LOL) ...
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
... and I still need a lot of work in the 'patience' department ... (especially when I have 'car keys' in my hand, LOL) ...
It took me about fifteen years to finally curb my road rage. Actually a lot of stuff, like patience, got turned around at that time.
However, I have not, and will not completely be cured about these things. It is not that I am an alcoholic, but I am human too.
I had to learn that the quest is not to eliminate them, but to deal with them before they manifest into a resentment (recurring issue).
These days, road rage? Yep! For about a second or so.
Unfortunately, there is one that likes to creep in, in stealth mode, and before I know it I'm into my major defect of character - ego self-will-run-riot (dry drunk) mode. "I hate it when that happens!"
... back to Step 10.
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"... unless this person can experience an entire psychic change there is very little hope of recovery." Dr. Silkworth. (Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Ed. p.xxix)
I still need a lot of work in the 'patience' department ... (especially when I have 'car keys' in my hand, LOL) ...
In 1979 I got hit with 'The Need For Speed' I went to an Auto Dealer and traded in my Austin Mini for a brand new Mercury Capri. It had a 302 V8 and four on the floor. I loved that ride and got a few speeding tickets due to LeadFoot. One time I got clocked at 208 kilometers per hour. It was exhilerating. Oh what it is to be young. :)
LOL guys, @ 20 y/o, (43 years ago) I got me a '73 Plymouth 'Cuda ... 340 4-bl carb... got caught by a state trooper with bigger engine, LOL ... I lost my licence do'n 140 mph on the interstate ... I was in the military so I could only drive on the air base for a long time ...
I don't get 'road rage' anymore, but I still haven't lost the 'need for speed' ... LOL ...
PS ... Oh, ... what I wouldn't give to have that car back ... it's worth ten times what I paid for it ...
-- Edited by Pythonpappy on Friday 1st of January 2016 08:48:22 PM
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
I remember giving that baby to a junk yard for Fifty bucks. It was rusted and had losr it luster over the years.
Now I'm looking at Mustang or Camaro for possibly one last thrill before I die. Or maybe a HellCat even though I am not fond of Chrysler..
When the US Dollar crashes due to the National debt the value of my gold hoard will go north like a rocket!
Dream On Marc... It's free. :)
