04.06.07

Patience as Power

Posted in Quotes to Live By at 5:36 pm by Freeman Wicklund

“He who loses patience, loses Truth as well as Non-violence.”

- Mohandas Gandhi

• How does losing one’s patience cause a person to lose Truth and Non-violence? Can you think of any examples of this in your life?

• What activities are you already doing to cultivate patience in your life? What other activities could you do to cultivate it more?

• In what situations are you unwilling to be patient? What are the negative results of that impatience?

I find it very difficult to be patient with violence and injustice. I want the violence to end as soon as possible. Still, I find that being impatient doesn’t allow me to change the world any faster. Quite the opposite, it can stress me out and frustrate me to the point where I am discouraged and require more down time to regenerate my strength to continue the struggle.

I think many of the activists who “burn out” are those who didn’t see the need to cultivate patience in their life. Social change can be glacially slow, but we need to be in it for the long haul and patience allows us to persist.

Patience also allows us to be calm and friendly as we promote our causes. Impatience can lead to frustration, anger, and the judgment of others. If we promote our message in this way, people won’t be inclined to listen to us. If we look miserable, why would anyone want to follow our lead?

In summary: Patience is persistence. Patience is persuasive. Patience is power.

This text was written in 2007 by Freeman Wicklund of FreemanWicklund.org, and it may be freely reprinted or distributed in any e-zine, e-mail, newsletter or blog as long as this sentence and Web link are included.

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