They say patience is a virtue.
But how many of us are patient all the way through situations? You know, people who give good advice are often, victims themselves, and by all means, known as “hypocrites”. We also self-diagnose or at least I do this a lot. I know what my problems are, and perhaps how to solve it (or at least have an idea) but it misses the middleman, the flesh…the thing that holds it all together. Maybe this is what can also be termed “patience”? The very opposite of a breaking point, a breakdown?
Many people will understand being patient as in a sense, waiting and letting something take its time. It also suggests stillness – less of an urgency but more on the reflective. A clear head.
Now consider this: being a patient.
No, you’re not necessarily sick. But I suppose you can be “sick in the head” (why does this sound funny? haha), as in psychologically. Sometimes we like to move fast, act fast, perform because we’re under pressure, but this also knocks us down. We make ourselves believe that we cannot for the love of God, slow down. We make ourselves believe we will fail once we stop! Yet if we actually took our time, even if it’s at the end of the night for a few minutes, we’d see so much more clearly and really assess the situation beyond us.
It’s a bit like driving. It’s about being efficient and using the fuel to perform when we can because we know where we’re going. But it’s also okay to slow down when we’re not so sure, because we can always speed up again and go even faster than before. On the other hand, crashing means our health ends up spiraling down, mood swings, fear (I’ll have to talk about this in another post) and self-blame.
And so, don’t forget to look after yourself. Your body and your health, mental or physical is equal to your wealth and being if not greater. People aren’t wrong when they say your body is your temple…
Hoi Yin Li 