I’ve been learning a lot about patience this year and I’m appreciating what a beautiful quality it is, how it supports well-being, and how it can be an evolutionary act. Let me share this with you now.
Balancing the Yin and Yang of Consciousness
I’ve never been a patient person. Astrologically, I’m an Aries with a lot of fire in my chart, so by nature I’m an initiator, always creating something and led from within. In my early 30’s I discovered a natural gift for identifying the learning needs of practitioners in the field of health and community education and then creating and delivering innovative training programmes to meet those needs. This required effort and determination and yet, it came easily for me. The ability to initiate, create, get things done and see things through is the Yang, or Masculine polarity of human consciousness.
I’ve also had lots of opportunities to develop the Yin or Feminine aspects of consciousness. This began when I was 29 and spontaneously started to write poetry – a receptive art. Then, twelve years later I began a meditation practice and committed to my spiritual path which has given me the opportunity to develop all kinds of vital skills such as trust, surrender, beginner’s mind and the ability to rest in the unknown.
As a creative person I’ve come to understand how these two strands – the Yin and the Yang – are always present in any creative act. Successful creating is a continual balancing act between the receptive and the active. As a conscious healing practitioner, I’ve also come to understand that one of the most important contributions I can make towards world peace is to sit at the centre of my being, in the place of equilibrium, holding these polarities – and when I’m moved to work with both as skilfully as I can. Potentially, each one of us is a vehicle for this balancing and harmonising of energy, the benefits of which ripple out far and wide. When I talk about transformational practice, these are the kind of skills I am referring to and they can take a lifetime to mature.
We are Always in Relationship
The Masculine aspect of consciousness is about the I – the will, and the development, expression and assertion of individuality. The Feminine is about the We, being responsive and in relationship.
Through the transformational vehicles of writing, meditation and inquiry, I’ve come to recognise that I am always in relationship. When I sit down to write, I enter a state of presence, awareness, contemplation and receptivity. My mind expands, I am open, curious, inviting inspiration and deeply listening to what comes. This may be a heightened awareness of my current experience – right now, I’m watching rain sliding down the window in front of me, and the tall feathery fronds of pampas grass in the next-door garden dancing beneath the wind. I am remembering impermanence – the knowledge that everything passes and everything is recycled. These beautiful pampas fronds are a passing beauty and break easily in the wind, the rain and the vegetation will sink into the earth and rise again as new growth.
As I write I’m drawing on the experience and skills of a lifetime, and when I’m lucky, I touch into something deeper – soul and my reason for being here, or I receive inspiration from a higher source. This makes writing an exciting adventure that leads me, an emerging story I can co-operate with and bring into form. There was a movie I watched and loved called “As It Was in Heaven” in which the main character, a classical music conductor, brought together a ragged village choir and led them into a place of lyrical harmony. He spoke of “bringing down the music”, meaning that the form, the music, the harmony is already here, in another dimension and we can, if we choose, develop our artistry and bring it down into the Earth realm.
Separation is an illusion. To feel connected with All-That-Is, all we have to do is be present, open, aware, awake and intentional.
The Importance of Completion and Integration
I’ve come to see all aspects of my work as art – whether it’s writing a poem, or a book, developing and running a course, facilitating a group, creating a garden, each requires this harmonising of Yin and Yang. Seven months ago, I set out with a goal and a destination in mind which I called COMPLETION. I wanted to bring together all the work I’ve done over the last twenty years into an integrated whole. I gave myself a year, and then I thought I’d be free to get on with my writing. Well! What I’ve remembered is that integration is not a simple matter of editing what I’ve already done and packaging it up. It’s more about moving the work, and myself, up the spiral of becoming into its next incarnation. Soul-led work has a life of its own, it’s a relationship and I am putting myself in service to that relationship. It can’t be rushed, and it is constantly shape-shifting. It requires patience, diligence and endurance.
Over these last seven months I’ve been challenged to hold these two forces – having a goal and a destination on the one hand, something I want to bring into the world – and on the other hand, being receptive to directions from soul and allowing soul to re-arrange me. At times, holding these polarities has taken all my energy, intention and commitment. It has stretched me beyond comfort and joy. Learning new skills and paying attention to details has stretched me even further. And yet, I’ve kept choosing to stay in the game. (Well, I am a wilful Aries after all!)
Patience Transforms the Old Paradigm Narrative
So that brings me back to patience. I just looked up the meaning on Wikipedia:
“ Patience (or forbearance) is the ability to endure difficult circumstances. Patience may involve perseverance in the face of delay; tolerance of provocation without responding with disrespect or anger; forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties; or being able to wait for a long time without getting irritated or bored. Patience is also used to refer to the character trait of being steadfast. Antonyms include impatience, hastiness, and impetuousness.”
I say patience is the skill of letting things take as long as they take. Patience does not push, strive or control. Patience knows how to wait and observe and feel into the patterns that are emerging. Patience is closely aligned with trust and being in a trusted relationship. It is co-operative rather than willful: I trust, I listen, I receive, I work with what I receive, respond and bring it into form. Patience knows how to wait without fretting, it may have a goal but it’s not in a hurry to get there and will surrender or re-vision the goal if necessary. Patience enjoys the ride and when a slow vehicle moves out in front, it rolls down the window, sniffs the air and enjoys the day. (I had to laugh, not long after I wrote this, I drove into town and a slow vehicle pulled out in front of me and sat there for several miles of narrow country roads, while I fumed with impatience! )
In these ways patience is a good balance for the old paradigm story. We’ve been conditioned to be in a hurry, to see our situation as urgent, to be distracted, to be in a constant state of wanting, needing and consuming, and these days more and more we are encouraged to be victimized impoverished consumers.
Patience is the skill that can create a sand mandala with concentrated care over many hours, and then, as soon as it is finished, destroy it in honour of impermanence.
Patience arises when we are in a state of equilibrium, sitting at the still point of the turning world. Patience takes a bigger view. It holds everything lightly and is not attached to outcomes. Our soul work is a progressive act of love, art, and devotion. Like the sand mandala, it holds an energy that can never be destroyed, only re-created.
I love writing these posts and I hope you enjoy reading them. If you feel moved to respond, please leave a message below. This really helps me and builds community. Thank you. Other articles you might enjoy are: Soul Work is a Long Haul Flight,: Holding the Creative Tension Between Longing and Fear and Why This is Essential for Transformation; We are Each a Part of a Bigger Conversation with the Universe
