Patience.


15

Patience.



There are times when it is wise to act slowly and with great patience. We seem to live in an age where everything has to be accomplished in great haste. Frequently people become like those possessed when they sit behind the wheel of a car. Sitting behind another car seems like the last thing that some wish to do so they recklessly take their lives, and the lives of others, into their hands, then at top speed pass in a dangerous place to simply be one step further forward in the line of traffic.

The ancient sages in their wisdom took their time and were responsive to nature and to fellow human being and animals alike. They saw little to be gained by venturing into a muddy dangerous river when a time of waiting and it would settle and clear and become less dangerous. 

As the sage says, "Young plants cannot be forced to grow by stretching them."

There are times in the creative life when you cannot force things to happen, we have to learn to take things as they come. When we reach a point in any work when we are unsure of what should be the next step then it may be time to step back and allow the canvas to whisper in your ear. How often a time of inaction leads to a far more positive outcome. 

With patience, there are very little errors that cannot be corrected. Every step we take leaves a footprint, no matter how softly we tread.  If we walk gently the impression we leave will cause little damage.

When we act with the inner peace of the Tao, we can accomplish many things that might have been left undone in the desire to rush to completion.




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