Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. ~ Lao Tsu

For most of my adult life I’ve been told to be “patient with the process.” What does that mean? I thought, as I hurried through my day as a busy mother, wife, career woman, & Girl Scout leader for my daughter’s troop. I wanted to get things done quickly, please everybody, and if there was a problem I wanted to fix it fast. Learning to walk through the discomfort of not knowing what to do, or having to stop and think before I reacted did not come easily to me. This perfectionistic way of being in the world led to much anxiety, periodic dizzy spells, a panic attack and a car accident, (luckily a minor one).

Fast forward many years, I’m now a much older, calmer, wiser woman. Life has taught me I can’t control everything, and the only thing I can control is how I respond. And how I respond has a lot to do with being patient with the process, my process, my journey. Kindness and acceptance of myself as I am continues to be a day by day, moment by moment practice. Being very hard on myself and driven, used to pay off with high grades in school & the approval I so much wanted from my parents. But as an adult, it was killing me inside. I’m glad I eventually found a healthier path.

So now, as I embark on a new adventure, writing children’s stories and learning how to illustrate them, sometimes it’s hard to be patient with the process. I remind myself everything starts out very small. An acorn seed does not become a tall oak tree overnight. It’s a process.

I asked a friend recently how she was able to write plays and actually get them produced. She said it was a long process and she didn’t do it alone. She worked with other people to make her dreams come true. But then she said something that stuck with me. She said, “First, I ask the question: How can this dream happen?”

First ask the question.

Like, “What’s the next step?”

Then be open to receiving the answer.

And until the answer comes, be patient with the process.

Hmmm, maybe patience with the process was the answer all along.

Do not be impatient with your seemingly slow progress. Do not try to run faster than you presently can. If you are studying, reflecting, and trying, you are making progress whether you are aware of it or not. A traveler walking the road in the darkness of night is still going forward. Someday, some way, everything will break open, like the natural unfolding of a rosebud. ~ Vernon Howard

Have patience with all things, but first of all with yourself. ~ Saint Frances de Sales