On Patience.

Life moves at its own rhythm.

We can’t bring tomorrow forward nor can we speed up time to get things over with. Time moves at the same pace as it always has. It’s out of our control.

Being patient means accepting life’s natural cycles. It’s being in agreement with reality.

Impatience is a disagreement with reality.

We might think that rushing will get us there sooner, but it simply takes our focus off the present and consumes more energy in doing so. It’s wasted effort.

Leaning forward into the next moment prevents us from standing firm in the present. Accepting reality is to accept that some things can’t be rushed. It brings us back into sync with life’s natural rhythm, allowing us to experience moments without haste.

As life goes on, it’s become harder for me to make time for everything and everyone, something that once came effortlessly.

I often find myself treating days and the plans within them as simple checkboxes.

Go to the gym three times a week. Catch up with this person. Visit that place.

Sometimes it feels like I’m trying to collect moments instead of experiencing them. And I think it stems from this feeling of life moving faster than I can follow. So I rush in order to keep up with it. And sometimes it works. I feel on top of things. But then looking back, I don’t recall those moments well, because I was never really present. So not only did I not enjoy those experiences, I have nothing to remember them by, creating the illusion of lost time.

So I’ve been trying to be more patient. To accept life’s natural order of things. To be firmly rooted in the present. Because nothing is experienced in the past or future.

That’s reserved for now.

-Faisal

This was issue #148 of the 🍋LifeLemons newsletter (short notes on philosophy, self-fulfilment, and creativity). You can view my previous articles here.

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🤓 About Me

I'm Faisal, a Doctor working in the NHS who writes online and makes Youtube videos on self-development, intentional living and doing the things that matter.

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