Patience fosters humility,

impatience arouses arrogance.  

Patience is the ability to accept discomfort, to remain unperturbed in the face of obstacles, and to be steadfast in the pursuit of a goal. There’s no complaint or irritation. Or gritting of our teeth.

Humility is being honest with ourselves and recognizing that we have faults and make mistakes. And that, no, we are not the most important person in the room.

Patience fosters humility by enabling us to calmly view ourselves in relation to what we are undergoing. Doing so, we will be better able to respect the views of others and appreciate that their wishes matter just as much as ours.

Impatience is all the things patience is not. It is being restless and desirous, and getting irritated when things don’t go our way.

When impatient, we focus on what we feel and want. We can then become disdainful of others and dismissive of their views and feelings. And with all that, we fall into the snare of pride and arrogance. And wonder why people we like and care about avoid us.

Chanting with a focused mind . . . (Click image for video)

With grasping, we lose.

Without grasping, we gain. 

Let’s try an experiment.

Close your eyes and imagine reaching out your hand to pick up a small stone. With your palm facing downwards, use your fingers and thumb to pick up the stone carefully. Holding the stone tightly lest it drops, your fingers will begin to ache and cramp up after a while. You can grasp the stone for a few minutes, a few hours, or maybe longer.

But the longer you hold on, the more painful the holding becomes until at some point the inevitable happens. You release your grip. Despite all your grasping, you cannot hold on to the stone forever. It will fall and be lost.

Now, once again imagine reaching out your hand to pick up that same stone. But this time, after you pick it up, turn your hand over with your palm facing up. Open your hand and let the stone sit quietly on your palm. Your fingers are now relaxed.

With grasping, we lose.

Without grasping, we gain.