The Gift of Impatience
It's been six months now that I have been receiving questions from people who are interested in mindfulness, want to know more about the practice and ways of deepening awareness. The way I see it is that having a question is already the beginning of the discovery.
"It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question." Eugene Ionesco
Like everything else in life, mindfulness also has highs and lows. Like seasons shape nature, so the seasons of our mindfulness practice shape our awareness. The first invitation I would like to present to all who are struggling with impatience is to bear in mind that forcing your practice to go in any direction means that you are not being mindful. I would pay attention to how your mind creates expectations and attachments to outcomes of the practice.
"We weren't impatient. We just weren't moving." John Whisenant
What if you saw impatience as a perfect gift? If impatience arises, welcome it with curiosity and let it educate you on how it becomes alive in your body. Make impatience an embodied experience. Stop thinking about it, feel it. Which part of your body is the center of impatience: shoulders, chest, stomach or your back? It could be in your legs, be curious and observe. The reason we practice body scan is to be more in tune on how the body responds to the present moment. This kind of observation will shape your intrapersonal intelligence, the capacity to observe what is happening within the self.
"People who have high intrapersonal intelligence are aware of their emotions, motivations, beliefs, and goals. They know what they like, what they dislike, who they are, and what they want to do. This is not the same as interpersonal, or socially skilled. Intra-means “within” or “internal.”" Tracy Ostwald Kowald
Now, what do you notice happens once you open up to the awareness of how impatience "resides" in your body? How does your body create impatience? What is the trajectory of that experience? Does it move up or down, does it have a color, what kind of thoughts does it trigger? Write down your answers and observe what happens when you observe the waves of impatience with curiosity.
How does it feel to experience self-connection in this way?
Mindfully yours, Dalida
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