Do You Have the Patience to Wait Until Your Mud Settles
Today’s quotation:
Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving until the right action arises by itself? -Lao-tzu
Today’s Meditation:
We have become very impatient people. Usually, we want a problem solved the moment it arises in our lives, and we get upset if something takes a little bit longer to take care of than we expected or wanted. We want our kids to change their attitudes now and our jobs to improve today, and we expect this person to do this task immediately. In our impatience, though, we often miss life’s solutions because we rush things and don’t allow them to take their natural course.
When I have problem students, I usually wait at least a couple of weeks before addressing problematic behaviors (unless they’re threatening to me or others, of course). In almost all cases, the problems don’t exist after a while because both the student and I have changed our perspectives–I’ve learned more about them, and they’ve learned more about me. If we need to address the issue, we’ve had enough time to understand the issues involved, and we’re not dealing with anything on a superficial level.
Sometimes, if we wait, we find out what we think is a problem isn’t one at all, especially if we wait to see how the “problem” plays out. Many people have been devastated to find out that a loved one is leaving them, only to find out later that the separation is very positive for both parties involved after the mud has settled. One who acts impatiently will try to fix the situation immediately, feel sorry for themselves, or even try to get back at the person who’s leaving. Patience allows us to accept the situation and then wait to see how it plays out–and what kinds of things life gives us even as it seems to be taking from us.
Let the mud settle. Then you can see clearly through the water to the bottom of the river or the pond and precisely what the issues are. Reaching into muddy water usually only stirs up more mud and causes it to take much longer to settle, and it could be dangerous reaching in somewhere you can’t see clearly. Be patient, and realize that life’s time and our time are not necessarily the same thing.
Questions to consider when you Have the Patience to Wait:
Why do we so often feel that things need to be solved NOW?
What benefits of giving things time to settle before we deal with them? What are some possible drawbacks?
Can you apply the metaphor of mud settling to situations you’ve experienced? What did someone do that made things worse? Better?
For further thought:
One watches the pear tree day after day, impatient for the ripening of the fruit. Let that person attempt to force the process, and he or she may spoil both fruit and tree. But let us patiently wait, and the ripe fruit finally falls into our lap.-Abraham Lincoln
If you missed yesterday’s Daily Meditation, you can find it here.
