Patience & Persistence
The latest issue of Spirit Rock News featured an article by Phillip Moffitt, in which he talks about the relationship between patience and persistence and emphasized their importance “for developing a sustainable meditation practice and for making change in your life.”
Phillip says: Patience is the ability to abide with things the way they are. It allows you to tolerate failure, disappointment, defeat, unpleasantness, and confusion–without giving up–both on the meditation cushion and in life. Persistence is the capacity of energetic resolve–the determination to hold steady to your intentions. Persistence brings into play the essential energy for directing your attention to what needs to be done right now…
Sometimes we can be impatient with the world: however, I don’t recommend starting with the world as the focus of your patience practice. It is far better to begin with fostering patience toward yourself. When you are patient with yourself, you naturally become patient with others and it spreads to those around you…
Persistence gives patience a purpose. If there isn’t a goal with a set of values to which you are applying yourself, what can seem like patience is really dilly-dallying. You’re not really about anything. You’re doing a little of this, a little of that, and you can think, “I’m a patient person. I’m easy-going. I’m doing fine in this area of patience.” But if there is not a commitment to something, if there is no alignment of persistence, then is that really being patient? Or are you simply tuned-out?
Through persistence you will eventually develop insight. But, if you’re not patient with yourself, you will not be able to be persistent. You don’t have to do anything extra. Just be patient and persistent in staying present, and the insights will come.
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Read the full article on Phillip’s website by clicking here.