Watching mothers and their children interact provides great examples of patience or impatience. Not having children myself, I’m sometimes in awe at the incredible amount of patience that mothers can have (without causing any physical harm to the child).

I commend my sister, Angela, for trying to teach her daughter, Sydney, about patience at a very early age. When Sydney was about two years old, she entered that demanding two-year-old phase, where she wanted what she wanted, when she wanted it, and that was NOW! Angela would calmly tell her that she had to be patient. Then she would ask Sydney if she knew what patience meant. Sydney would reply, “No,” and Angela would explain that patience meant to wait a minute. After a while, Sydney started to remember the answer, and when Angela said, “You need to be patient. Do you know what patience means?” Sydney would reply, “It means wait a minute.” After that, if she stopped whining for a while, she would get rewarded. It became a little game that gave my niece the attention she wanted, while also teaching her something.

We often go through life like a two-year-old child—not willing to wait for anything, whether it’s as trivial as our turn in line at the supermarket or as serious as our life-long dream. How many of you get frustrated when the driver in front of you is just going the speed limit? When you have to listen to a girlfriend who tells long, boring stories all the time? When you need to save money before buying something? While we all strive for instant gratification (hence our huge credit card debt), if we were willing to wait a little, instead of pushing all the time, our lives would be less frustrated and more content.

Sometimes it feels as though we’re wasting time doing nothing, when in reality, much is happening. There’s a card in the Osho Tarot deck that has no picture on it—it’s completely black with one word: “No-Thingness”. One would think its meaning is negative, however it is quite inspiring. It talks about the fear we have when nothing is happening, but that it is precisely when something is about to be born. It is the time when all is possible. It is the journey in between “things”.

I have a friend who launched a line of inspiring home products. She worked hard on all the ideas and tried selling them to many retail outlets, however, only a few smaller stores bought them, and the products didn’t sell quickly. Instead of continuing to call more retailers, she waited. And during the time she was waiting, she came up with an even more clever package for her products. The new package received a much better reception and allowed her to start fresh with new retailers that otherwise might not have considered her had they had a unfavorable sales experience with the original packages.

Usually, events happen in life at exactly the right time, which may not be when you would like them to happen. Have you ever thought that the extra five minutes at the automatic teller machine, waiting behind someone who obviously can’t read or push buttons faster than a toddler, might save you from being at an intersection just at the moment when someone decides to run a red light? Next time your patience is tested, be a Goddess in waiting—it could turn out to be a blessing.

5 Ways to Wait Happily:

• Daydream about pleasant places or memories whenever you’re waiting in line.

• Send loving thoughts to anyone trying your patience.

• Listen and evaluate a situation before you speak or act.

• Try not to look at the clock every five minutes.

• Be thankful for a delay; it could save your life and/or create an opportunity.

Excerpted from the book: The Goddess of Happiness, A Down-to-Earth Guide for Heavenly Balance and Bliss

Debbie Gisonni, aka The Goddess of Happiness™, is an author (The Goddess of Happiness: A Down-to-Earth Guide for Heavenly Balance and Bliss and Vita’s Will: Real Life Lessons about Life Death & Moving On), speaker, happiness expert and columnist for iVillage.com. Contact: http://www.goddessofhappiness.com

Copyright, All Rights Reserved, Debbie Gisonni

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