Patience

I've been complimented more than once on my patience. People are amazed at how I can wait in silence, perfectly calm. It's a skill. Like any other skill, most people can develop their patience to a higher level. There are ways: attitudes, mental disciplines, and certain exercises.

Practice mediation. There are many techniques and methods, some more formal than others. Most have their benefits. Find what suits you. The ability to silence the mind and quiet the inner chatter will expand your patience. If nothing else, it'll give you exercises to do while waiting and will pass the time. You'll at least look patient. Regular practice will develop a calm core that you can summon at will.

Patience is a powerful skill to have. You'll be more likely to think before you do something hasty that you'll regret later. That calm core will give you a good ground floor to your plans. It is said that all things come to those who wait. There's some truth to that. Many things in life benefit more from patience than action. Often the best plan is to wait for things to work themselves out.

Yes, I practice meditation, but that's not where I really learned my patience. I learned it as a young boy sitting on a deer stand. The idea is to sit perfectly still, making no sound and few movements. What movements that are done are slow, smooth, and deliberate. Deer have good ears and eyes. Years of deer hunting helped me develop patience. Hunters with little patience are soon up and walking around -spooking the deer and moving them past more patient hunters.

So of you notice I'm patient, just think how I got that way. I learned patience while waiting to kill something.

-Sixbears