Patience and Perspective...

I think we all have various lessons and challenges during the course of our lives and they may not be the same for everyone. When I was younger, I used to wrestle a great deal with patience and restlessness. Now that I am "older," I understand that part of my impatience and feelings of restlessness were due to my not feeling in control of my life. Patience is a little easier for me now but I still go through bouts when things don't seem to be happening fast enough or easy enough and this is where perspective comes in!

When I was in Germany for a conference in October (2007), I was privileged to get a strong, healthy dose of both challenges to my patience and reminders about perspective. To be in a small town on the edge of the Black Forest with ancient buildings and a mellow, slow pace was a grand reminder that the entire world does not work at the frenzied pace of the United States. People live perfectly long, happy lives in places where shops close at 6:00 pm and nothing is open on Sundays! AND, people can be perfectly happy waiting, standing on line and dealing with rules and regulations. I have been trying to remind myself of that lately. Life goes on quite pleasantly whether I am organized and efficient or not. I've come a long way since my teens and twenties but I can still get weary of things and people NOT being on time, following through or happening as easily and efficiently as I think they should.

I try to remember the slow, independent pace of a small German street or remind myself that other people have paths and missions that I know nothing about. It's fine. It's good. As I step on the scale and get frustrated that I'm not losing weight as smoothly as I'd like or I wonder why my bank account can't be a bit more "plush" since I seem to always be working and trying to support a family--I try to go back to Germany for a little dose of patience and perspective. It'll be fine. Everything happens on time, I just need to get a little calmer in accepting that!