Do you find yourself often being inpatient? Do you think of it as a bad trait? Some years ago I had an injury and it was a long road to recovery, and as with all the bad things that happen in your life this taught me things I might not have considered otherwise, and in the end was a great gift. It definitely taught me patience, whether I wanted to learn it or not!

I have come to regard this thing we call patience in a whole new light. I always thought of it as a character trait, something some of us are born with “more of” than others. I have always observed those who work with children or the seriously ill and have thought they had been blessed with patience, something I always seemed to have in very short supply. Now I see patience as something much greater than a mere character trait.

Patience isn’t a character trait or even ability though if you look up the dictionary meaning it would seem to be one or the other. Patience is a gift. It is a gift we give others and ourselves. It consists of nothing more than giving others and ourselves time — time to heal, time to learn, time to adjust, time to grow, and just whatever time is needed to achieve what needs to be achieved.

I had to learn to give my body time to heal and to give that time as it was needed not based on what I wanted or what any doctor thought.  I realized this was no different than when I was raising my children, when I had to give each child the time to learn how to walk, how to talk, how to control their emotions. It is a gift that is freely given in every loving relationship where one person gives another person understanding. It is evident in your own life when you learn to let go of being perfect in order to become who you are meant to be.

When you think of patience as a gift then none of us have more of it than any other. We are neither born with it nor denied it; the ability to bestow this gift is within each of us at all times. In a world where time seems always to be in short supply it is a gift of great value that costs us nothing to bestow on our fellow man. It can be as simple as not honking your horn at the driver in front of you, or as involved as coaching a youth sport, or as personal as holding the hand of a loved one as they come to the end of their life. It can be practiced and it can be generously given to total strangers and loved ones alike. I can think of no greater testament to anyone than to say they possess great patience, for that is to say they are generous and have a loving heart that bestows one of the greatest gifts one can give. It is a gift that when given, enriches both the giver and the receiver.