Having patience means seeing beyond the emotion

I’ll admit it – my life is often driven by emotion.

I like to think that creative, passionate people often are – or maybe that’s just our excuse to justify our being that way.

My wife on the other hand is intelligent and solid – rarely crazed by the same things that often send me into a frantic frenzy.

Take this weekend for example. Meteorologically it was utterly beautiful. Blue skies, bright sunshine, mild temperatures and an orchestra of birds singing sweetly just about everywhere they landed.

But the peacefulness was short lived. You see my neighbors (who are habitually known for disrupting the silence) thought this absolutely perfect Sunday was in need of a little noise – compliments of an air gun used to work on a car in their backyard.

This went on for the majority of the day. Each passing hour I grew more and more angry and frustrated like a crotchety old man ready to yell at a bunch of kids playing stickball in the street.

My wife on the other hand, though not thrilled by the noise, managed to compartmentalize her annoyance so she could still fully enjoy her day.

Rodney Williams once said, “Patience – the gift of being able to see past the emotion.”

And I suppose that’s where I’m lacking – in my ability to see past the emotion. If I could then maybe such annoyances, however frequent, wouldn’t bother me as much. Wouldn’t cause to me waste much of my day being angry with someone else and ultimately robbing me from actually enjoying the blue skies, bright sunshine, mild temperatures and orchestra of birds.

Maybe I should have a little talk with those birds, after all we feed them every week. Maybe they need to start singing a little louder.

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3 thoughts on “Having patience means seeing beyond the emotion

  1. “There is no situation so bad that it cannot be accepted patiently with an open, accommodating and peaceful heart”. I try to remember this when the kids across the street are boom-booming their car stereos at a volume you could hear in New Jersey. (I live in Florida).

  2. Hi Craig,
    Well, I’m going to be politically incorrect here and go out on a limb and say MOVE!! For years I beat myself up saying “why does human created noise bother me? There must be something wrong with ME.” The truth is,….doesn’t really matter why it bothers me, it just does. I prefer silence and the sounds of nature, to the sounds of other peoples hobbies. The only thing I learned over the years is that in general, no one is out to “get me” and “bother me” with their noise, as I previously liked to believe, so it does help that I no longer take it personally. However, I am a sensitive person who (HSP – Highly Sensitive Person…..)is bothered by the noises of neighbors! My theory is that our mothers were the ones who kept a silent house when we napped as babies! My friend’s mother vacuumed around his crib when he was a baby – he can fall asleep and stay asleep no matter what kind of noise is going on!! I’ve seen this time and time again over the years.

    You deserve to have a quiet nature filled day as much as our noisy counterparts deserve to make their hobby noises. (I have a neighbor who tests out power tools – in his backyard – for a living…) We just seem to be the minority. But – that’s what acreage and the country are for my friend. Move out on an acre or two – you’ll wish you had done it sooner!!! I’m checking out realtor.com as we speak…….

  3. Nice one, Craig. And perfectly timed with all the things (good and bad) spring can bring. Including the sounds of some birds!

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