Yesterday afternoon, I was participating in one of humanity’s favorite pastimes: sitting on the couch and thinking about the time I have to get things done this week. When I recognize my mind going past the helpful phase of listing and planning (I need to go grocery shopping and take my car in to get serviced) and into the unhelpful phase of lamenting (I have to go shopping every week…I’ll just eat these groceries and have to do it again next week. What is life, just doing the same stuff over and over again until you die?) I shift my mindset. I’m pretty good at this since I’ve practiced it for about 20 years, but it’s always a funny experience.

This time I was struck by the tendency we have to think in terms of work days and weeks. Our society and work lives are structured in a way that pushes us to see things in this medium-short term: we wake up and start stressing about what needs to get done today before we can relax, as well as what needs to get done this week before we can relax on the weekend. I notice that for me, this isn’t the most conducive mindset for a happy, fulfilled life.

Focus on the moment

Focusing on the present gives us an instantaneous break from this stress/work mindset. We focus on the task at hand and can enjoy accomplishing it rather than worrying about what’s next. We focus on this breath and invite our awareness fully into this moment. Tai Chi and meditation teach us how to do this, and it is incredibly powerful. Take learning the 108 in Tai Chi or even a shorter form in Kung Fu. At first, it seems like an overwhelmingly large task. How will I ever remember all of this? Yet you begin learning one posture or partner at a time and eventually it adds up to the entire sequence. One day, almost by accident, you’ve learned the whole form.

This is one way that patience works in our practice and in life. If we aren’t stressed about having to get good right away, it frees us up to enjoy the present moment. Rather than trying to rush through this moment, we recognize that life is just a sequence of moments to enjoy. As Yamamoto Tsunetomo says in the classic samurai text Hagakure, “There is surely nothing other than the single purpose of the present moment. A man’s whole life is a succession of moment after moment.”

Bending Time

Patience also allows us to bend time in the other direction, to see things in terms of years, decades and lifetimes. This can give us the perspective necessary to weather a storm in the short term. If we are bogged down by the stress of the day or week, we can zoom out to a more helpful time frame. By seeing the big picture, we remind ourselves that this too shall pass. 

The internal challenge for this week is to recognize any time you wish something was going faster, then pause and practice patience. By making this a habit, you will no longer be a slave to impatience. Each moment becomes an opportunity to fully experience life and enjoy it.