We don’t mean to be impatient, but we are nonetheless. We know we’re not at our best when impatient, yet it still seems to sneak up on us like a slow boil until we find ourselves disproportionately simmering over — usually over some minor inconvenience. And when this occurs with enough frequency, we ironically become impatient with our own impatience . . . because impatience has become our default reaction to everything. So exactly, what does such a reoccurring impatience reveal about us?
From the best I can tell, impatience is a symptom of both heart and mind. It is what occurs when your external circumstances have been allowed to burglarize your internal sense of well-being. So in this way, impatience is like leaving the door of your sub-conscious wide open — inviting all of the unfiltered events of your daily life to lay siege to your peace of mind . . . until setting off a chain reaction of involuntary responses, of which you can only feel like a helpless bystander.
The truth be told, having peace of mind is a simple matter of time management – if you haven’t made room in your life for it . . . it likely won’t be there. Perhaps you think of peace of mind as an indulgence, of which you couldn’t possibly be expected to allocate time, given the demands on your life . . . as if somehow your life choices were beyond your control. Now, maybe it’s just my artistic sensibility, but I’m drawn by nature to a more contemplative disposition – one that creates for me a sanctuary in the midst of the noise and frenetic pace of my life. But the trick for me isn’t about carving out specific blocks of time, as it is more about a choice I make to view every moment as sacred.
Intuitively, you already know that if you spend a moment to take in the beauty of a sunrise or a sunset — you’ll end up with an abiding sense of peace and well-being . . . feeling your load lighten, if only briefly. Actually, there are moments just like that one, all throughout your day, all along the way to be savored — moments that remind you of far deeper and truer things about yourself, than the clutter and clatter of your busyness, could ever hope to explain. This is because every moment is sacred, every moment contributing to the whole — like all of the ingredients in a tasty stew simmering together on a back burner slow cooking. You can’t hurry it along, because low and slow is what makes it exactly what it is . . . and being at peace works in the very same way.
Psalm 46:10 admonishes us to “Be still, and know that I am God . . .” Notice that the first thing is, we are to be still – because the knowing of God, is not discovered as one more competing voice in your life. God is found in the whisper – not in the ruckus (1 Kings 19:11,12) . . . so we must quiet our hearts and minds to hear him. So come sit awhile, and watch that sun go down — until you’re sitting in the dark . . . God just might have something he wants to whisper in your ear.
Then out of the stillness — let this be your prayer . . .
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Still Chasing Light
Featured Image by Nelson Santos Jr on Unsplash
