Patience

“When you have a dream that you can’t let go of, trust your instincts and pursue it. But remember: Real dreams take work, They take patience, and sometimes they require you to dig down very deep. Be sure you’re willing to do that.”

– Harvey Mackay

Rome wasn’t built overnight. So, it goes without saying that your dreams won’t be achieved overnight. No, it takes time, patience, and perseverance to achieve your goals and dreams. Whether it be personal or professional. You must, therefore, work even harder to not get frustrated, disappointed, or discouraged along the way. Have faith that things will work out in the end.

It Takes Time

“The best teachers have showed me that things have to be done bit by bit. Nothing that means anything happens quickly–we only think it does. The motion of drawing back a bow and sending an arrow straight into a target takes only a split second, but it is a skill many years in the making. So it is with a life, anyone’s life. I may list things that might be described as my accomplishments in these few pages, but they are only shadows of the larger truth, fragments separated from the whole cycle of becoming. And if I can tell an old-time story now about a man who is walking about, waudjoset ndatlokugan, a forest lodge man, alesakamigwi udlagwedewugan, it is because I spent many years walking about myself, listening to voices that came not just from the people but from animals and trees and stones.”

― Joseph Bruchac

Have patience. Always remember that the journey of life is not a sprint to your end destination; rather, it is a marathon with many forks and detours along the way. So, it’s great to have a goal and a vision of the future, but don’t forget it will take time, commitment, and hard work to make that vision a reality.

Your Journey

“Your journey has molded you for your greater good, and it was exactly what it needed to be. Don’t think you’ve lost time. There is no short-cutting to life. It took each and every situation you have encountered to bring you to the now. And now is right on time.”

― Asha Tyson

Every step you’ve taken has led you to this moment right now. Any deviation and you would not have arrived at this place, at this time. So, look at each moment of your past as a stepping stone for you to learn, grow, and eventually lead you to where you need to be. For your journey, not your destination, shapes who you are and what you do in this life.

Unanswered Questions

“Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books written in a foreign language. Do not now look for the answers. They cannot now be given to you because you could not live them. It is a question of experiencing everything. At present you need to live the question. Perhaps you will gradually, without even noticing it, find yourself experiencing the answer, some distant day.”

― Rainer Maria Rilke

It is not meant for you to have all the answers. That’s not how life works. Life is about asking questions and being willing to go on the journey to seek answers. And you may ultimately never find the answer because it is the experience, the journey that matters. Because sometimes in order to discover the path you are meant to walk, you must first ask the right questions that guide you to where you need to be.

Life Moves at its Own Pace

“It is always the simple things that change our lives. And these things never happen when you are looking for them to happen. Life will reveal answers at the pace life wishes to do so. You feel like running, but life is on a stroll. This is how God does things.”

― Donald Miller

Life cannot be forced. And, the greatest lesson you can learn in life is that you are not in control of anything outside your own consciousness. Life is going to do what it pleases, when it wants to. We’re not meant to have all the answers; rather, we are here to learn how to trust in God to not lead us astray. The point of life is learning to have faith and finding peace in not knowing what lies around the next corner.

Change the Channel

Life has no remote….get up and change it yourself!”

― Mark A. Cooper

If at any point in life, you get tired of the the show playing…then get up and change the channel. No one else can do it for you. You have to decide when you’re tired of watching reruns and repeat episodes that make up your life and then make some changes.

As You Go Through Life

by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Don’t look for the flaws as you go through life;
And even when you find them,
It is wise and kind to be somewhat blind
And look for the virtue behind them.
For the cloudiest night has a hint of light
Somewhere in its shadows hiding;
It is better by far to hunt for a star,
Than the spots on the sun abiding.

The current of life runs ever away
To the bosom of God’s great ocean.
Don’t set your force ‘gainst the river’s course
And think to alter its motion.
Don’t waste a curse on the universe –
Remember it lived before you.
Don’t butt at the storm with your puny form,
But bend and let it go o’er you.

The world will never adjust itself
To suit your whims to the letter.
Some things must go wrong your whole life long,
And the sooner you know it the better.
It is folly to fight with the Infinite,
And go under at last in the wrestle;
The wiser man shapes into God’s plan
As water shapes into a vessel.

Life is an experience meant to be had – don’t fight it. Don’t waste time dissecting every aspect of it and end up overanalyzing life’s journey. Don’t be overly critical, for you will undoubtedly make mistakes – so, learn from them and move forward along the path you have chosen. And at the end of the day, try to relax and enjoy the ride.

Waiting

Waiting . . .

by John Burroughs

Serene, I fold my hands and wait,
Nor care for wind, nor tide, nor sea;
I rave no more ‘gainst time or fate,
For lo! my own shall come to me.

I stay my haste, I make delays,
For what avails this eager pace?
I stand amid the eternal ways,
And what is mine shall know my face.

Asleep, awake, by night or day,
The friends I seek are seeking me;
No wind can drive my bark astray,
Nor change the tide of destiny.

What matter if I stand alone?
I wait with joy the coming years;
My heart shall reap where it hath sown,
And garner up its fruit of tears.

The waters know their own and draw
The brook that springs in yonder height;
So flows the good with equal law
Unto the soul of pure delight.

The stars come nightly to the sky;
The tidal wave unto the sea;
Nor time, nor space, nor deep, nor high,
Can keep my own away from me.

Have Patience and Faith that in the end things will work out.

It is often difficult to accept our circumstances. To know that you have done all that you can and all you can do now is be patient and wait for the chips to fall as they may. But, it is at these times when you have to have faith that everything will work out. . .that sometimes it takes time for life to unfold the way it is meant to. And, during these moments when you begin to doubt and question the path you are on, you must take a deep breath, stay the course and simply let life happen.