Tag Archives: patience
Their life and their limits
“Experience has taught me this, that we undo ourselves by impatience. Misfortunes have their life and their limits, their sickness and their health.” — Michel de Montaigne Experience seems to be teaching me the same things it taught Montaigne, though I may not be learning it as gracefully. There’s an old saying: “If you don’t …
The years teach us
“It is very strange that the years teach us patience – that the shorter our time, the greater our capacity for waiting.” ― Elizabeth Taylor (the novelist) One of the great blessings of having parents who live a long time is the ability to learn from them about how to handle what lies ahead. As my siblings and …
By the seeds
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.”― Robert Louis Stevenson Spring is a time of anticipation and reward, but it also can be a time of impatience, when the weather is moody and unpredictable, and some of our plants don’t bloom as quickly as we wish …
Press forward
“The ground of liberty is to be gained by inches. We must be contented to secure what we can get from time to time and eternally press forward for what is yet to get. It takes time to persuade men to do even what is for their own good.” ― Thomas Jefferson A quote attributed …
Out of confusion
“I feel anxious for the fate of our Monarchy or Democracy or what ever is to take place. I soon get lost in a Labyrinth of perplexities, but whatever occurs, may justice and righteousness be the Stability of our times, and order arise out of confusion. Great difficulties may be surmounted, by patience and perseverance.”— …
The small daily differences
“We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.” ― Marian Wright Edelman Years ago, during a baseball game when the opposing team kept making small, unexciting advances …
The little steps
“Don’t despise the little steps you know you can take every day. There are tiny miracles in each and every one of them.” ― Israelmore Ayivor Do you ever have days when you feel like just giving up? I do. Often. In fact, I’m having one today, which I hope will be far behind me …
The little pictures
“Change enough of the little pictures, and you’ll find you’ve changed the big picture.” — Ashleigh Brilliant For many years — almost since I first discovered Ashleigh’s work in 1990 — I’ve had this quote on my refrigerator door. It reminds me to be patient when results come slowly, and not to feel helpless if …
Coaxed downstairs
“Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.” — Mark Twain I’ve come to respect the immense power of habit to influence our lives for better or worse. In everything from eating to sleeping to managing money to how we …
Up and doing
Let us, then, be up and doing,With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing,Learn to labor and to wait. — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow If a few short words could sum up the past 18 months of Jeff’s life, it would be hard to find any more appropriate than these. The photo above was …
A hope
“Grieve in places the world does not forgive. Rejoice in places the world does not notice. Live with a patience that the culture cannot sustain, and a hope that the world cannot imagine.” – Krista Tippett Thanks to all who visit this site, and especially to all of you who have grieved, rejoiced, and hoped …
Let us love
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” — John, apostle of Jesus (I John 4:7-8, NIV) In a chapter that opens with ominous warnings about false teachers, John …
Let us begin
“All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days . . .nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.” ― John F. Kennedy One thing that bothers me most about contemporary culture is our collective impatience …
We must discover
“We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.” — Marcel Proust As several readers have pointed out recently, we have many sources from which to seek wisdom. For people of faith, holy scriptures are primary; for all of us, other …
The most effective technique
“People often ask me what is the most effective technique for transforming their life. It is a little embarrassing that after years and years of research and experimentation, I have to say that the best answer is–just be a little kinder.” — Aldous Huxley I thought quite awhile about Huxley’s conclusion, and I think it …
It all depends
“Now then, Pooh,” said Christopher Robin, “where’s your boat?” “I ought to say,” explained Pooh as they walked down to the shore of the island, “that it isn’t just an ordinary sort of boat. Sometimes it’s a Boat, and sometimes it’s more of an Accident. It all depends.” “Depends on what?” “On whether I’m on …
Waiting
“Waiting is one of the great arts.” — Margery Allingham It’s fitting that this quote came from an author of detective stories, because the seemingly glamorous life of a private eye requires a great deal of tedious waiting. For Jeff and me, it seems as if the past year has held well more than its …
One step at a time
“The elevator to success is out of order. You’ll have to use the stairs…one step at a time.” — Joe Girard Years ago when I wanted to lose about 5 pounds, I was able to accomplish that goal by making just one small change. I worked on the third floor of a large building, and I …
A friend who cares
“The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.” ― Henri J.M. Nouwen …
Just stand there shining
“Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.” — Anne Lamott I don’t want to sound paranoid, but people are watching us. They watch us in grocery store checkout lines, in doctors’ waiting rooms, or sitting at the wheel at a stoplight in gridlock. They overhear …
Divine surprise
“The story of Easter is the story of God’s wonderful window of divine surprise.” — Carl Knudsen It’s possible to hope with complete assurance for something, and still be delightfully surprised when you get more than you asked for. That’s how Christmas morning often felt to me in childhood– the anticipation, though great, never quite captured …
In even the smallest matter
“Be satisfied with success in even the smallest matter, and think that even such a result is no trifle.” — Marcus Aurelius If you’ve ever been to Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara or certain other well-known Mexican cities, you probably have seen the beautiful artwork created with tiny seed beads or yarn in the tradition of the Huichol people. With …
There will be times
“Let us learn to appreciate there will be times when the trees will be bare, and look forward to the time when we may pick the fruit.” — Anton Chekhov Even when the trees appear to be bare, there is a lot happening underground. A gardener once explained to me that fall is the best …
If you can wait
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise… — Rudyard Kipling If I had to name my top five favorite poems, “If” by Kipling would definitely make …
Defeat Despair 