Patience

     As a mother of five, I have had the beautiful opportunity to daily be a student of Patience. In my own journey I have realized that when I lack patience with my external world it is a symptom of internal discord.
What am I trying to control? What expectations do I have that are not being met? There are so many reasons for us to believe that things around us should be different than they actually are. This always leads us to being impatient with the world "as we expect it to be" instead of embracing what is. 
  When we are triggered by circumstance, like when the driver in the car ahead of us is going too slow, we can approach it in a few different ways. Our gut response is usually to become instantly irritated and look around for ways to "escape" the situation. Another response is to accept what is happening and grumble about "idiots" , "other drivers" etc.
​The way that I try to approach this very common scenario is by just observing what is happening and how it doesn't necessitate an emotional response. My life is not being changed by this circumstance, I am not allowing the external to affect my internal balance, because in the end I am in charge of my response.
By becoming an observer of ourselves we allow thoughts and emotions to flow freely though our minds. We can choose to get hung up on certain ideas and feelings, or we can let them go. 
" The ancient principle of Patience can help us feel our emotions--but without having to pay a price that ends up hurting ourselves or others." - Donald Altman
One of the examples I use in my work is this: 
If we can approach life with the fluidity of water, then the obstacles that we face are really just an illusion. The water does not care about the rocks in the river, or the debris that is constantly cluttering its path. It is water, its nature does not change no matter what it encounters. In this same way we can maintain our inner peace regardless of the obstacles we encounter on our own path.