I think I have always been a pretty introspective person, but I know I have become even more so after beginning to work from home full-time. All the silence around me gives time and space to think in between the work I have to get done, and I end up reflecting a lot on myself and the world around me. Monday Musings has become my space to share what I've been learning, and for those of you who have followed from the beginning, I'm sure you've seen my heart and mind molded slowly over time.
One area that begs for more change is my propensity to be impatient. While I cannot blame anyone but myself for this, I have seen how acutely the world teaches us that patience is not a virtue anyone really needs. Texts are sent in a second and an immediate response is expected. Packages arrive at our doorstep within hours after we place the order. If we want to watch a TV show we don't have to wait for it to come on - we just pull up whatever subscription service we choose and watch things right away.
All of our lives are happening in the matter of an instant. We don't have to wait, we don't have to be patient, and we are taught that we have a right to achieve whatever results we want right away. When we don't (and when I don't) we become frustrated, even more impatient, and demanding that we wait no longer for whatever it is we want. I have seen this creep into my own life, and the results are not very pretty.
What can I do to change that? I don't know the full answer, but one of the things I am doing is choosing activities on-purpose that take a long time. I wholeheartedly believe it is unhealthy to always take the quickest route, make the most efficient decision, or find shortcuts in every area of life. We are not meant to be machines, cranking out tasks and duties as quickly as possible. We are meant to enjoy life, to slow down because we can, and to take in all that's around us.
So I challenge you: find things to do that take a long time. Drive to a coffee shop that's farther away to work. Read a book that takes a full month to finish (or, in my case, choose a Bible study that will take at least 3 years). Start a project that you can't finish in one week, or even one month. Invest in areas that will make you patient.
Live your life, not from one minute to the next, but from one moment to the next - no matter how long that moment may be. I promise, in the long run, it will be so worth your time.
