Soul of a Jedi

Practice Patience

“Patience you must have, my young padawan.”

Yoda

According to the late Margaret Thatcher, “Patience and resilience come only from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems.” As much as we would like smooth sailing and sunny days all the time (speaking for myself, of course), life is rarely that way for long. Resilience and patience must be cultivated; practiced until the strength to face whatever comes is possible.

There is an excellent article on the Goalcast website written by Matt Valentine on developing resilience. It begins, he says, with cultivating self-awareness. Most of us automatically assume we know ourselves intimately, but few of us do. Like it or not, self-knowledge is as much a process as getting well-acquainted with someone else. It's not natural to dig into our thoughts and actions, and peel away the unconscious layers of motivation. We don't typically ask ourselves questions such as: what am I feeling right now; why did I say that; what am I trying to achieve here; and am I going about this in the right way. We have a hard time accepting and acknowledging when we are wrong. We spend the first half of life in an effort to construct a strong and powerful ego, and when we have it, we tend to rely on it entirely. It's not easy, then, to chip it away in the second half of life.

Both are necessary; we must develop a strong ego in order to have the courage to strip it away. Over time, an unrestrained ego that resists transformation becomes like a suit of armor that has rusted in place. It prevents movement, growth and genuine relationship. Becoming vulnerable takes strength. When we are able to accept life on its own terms, and deal with our personal mistakes and imperfections in a loving way, we strengthen our resilience muscles. When we have done that, almost no storm life sends can blow us away.

Time and patience are required to chip away at the armor and allow the soul of a Jedi to shine through. Believe in yourself, and then practice transformation.

                                                                  In the Spirit,

                                                                      Jane