Allowing or Pushing

A few years ago a friend gifted me The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have by Mark Nepo. This book of daily 'guidance' was written by a man who chose to share wisdom, insights, observations from a life encompassing the spectrum of experiences—ordinary to difficult, life threatening to life giving—brought about by choices made.

I have come to treasure this book. Each day, each year I glean greater awarenesses along with the opportunity to live mindfully and intentionally. Today the reading was on Patience, something I've danced with many times, successfully and not so. One thought in particular stood out.

"...Had I not waited—which is different than avoiding what needs to be done...

Fear wants us to act too soon. But patience, hard as it is, helps us outlast our preconceptions..."

Various questions come to mind, including:

* How many times had I claimed to be patient when I was actually avoiding a situation, conversation, choice because I was afraid?

* What were the results from acting too soon because fear was the driver instead of wise discernment?

* How often did I push (fear based) instead of allow (trust based)?

We gain wisdom in many ways. Consciously tuning in allows the opportunity to move beyond preconceptions to clarity. This is what I choose. How about you?

In the Flow of Patiently Allowing,

Antoinette