A year and a half ago I found myself in an awkward in-between-place in my life. After separating from my former partner, I moved into what turned out to be a very challenging rental situation. In addition to my heart-ache and difficult living situation, I caught a terrible cold that kept me house-bound for several weeks. As soon as I was physically strong enough to leave the house again, I began searching for my new home.

I was very relieved when I finally found a new place to call my home. However, my current rental situation was so bad that I was desperate to find a way to bridge the time between the day I found my home-to-be and my moving day. Luckily a friend offered me to house- and cat-sit for her while she and her family were away on vacation.

Grateful for this retreat from my unfortunate rental situation, I was silently hoping to move into my new home right after my house-sitting arrangement ended, on the 21st of the month. The current tenant of my future home had plans to leave Victoria on the 20th and, therefore my hope was not entirely unrealistic.

My future landlord said that he would call me as soon as he had done the moving out inspections with the current tenant. For a few days I waited for the phone to ring until I succumbed to the urge to call my future landlord to get the latest news. Noticing my sense of urgency, he offered to do the moving-in-inspection right after the moving-out- inspection with the current tenant was done. It would save him a trip into town and would help me move sooner.

This was music to my ears. I agreed to meet on Saturday afternoon for the inspection and jumped into action. I went to my old home and continued packing boxes and called the moving company to arrange my move for Monday afternoon. I even arranged for a technician to come by later on Monday to hook up the Internet and phone in my new abode. I was eager to get myself moved as quickly as possible.

When I arrived at my home-to-be on Saturday afternoon, my future landlord greeted me with the words: “Don’t even bother locking your bike! The suite is not ready.” The suite was neither empty nor clean. The current tenant had simply underestimated the time needed to pack her stuff and clean the place. The landlord apologized “I should have known better. I shouldn’t have asked you to come until I had completed the inspection with the current tenant.”

I was very disappointed. Many thoughts were racing through my mind. Where was I going to go after my house-sitting ended on Tuesday? When was I going to be able to move into my new home? What if I had to pay a cancellation fee the moving company? I didn’t have any answers to these questions. All I knew was that I would be able to move into my new home by March 1st at the latest. I said good-bye to the landlord, who affirmed that he would call me as soon as he could do the inspection.

As I cycled away, I felt heavy and defeated. It started drizzling. The soft drizzle soon turned into a heavy downpour. While I was riding my bike, exposed to the elements, feeling defeated, wet and miserable, I suddenly began to laugh at myself and heard myself saying: “Thank you! Thank you for this lesson on how to be more patient!”

I completely and utterly understood with every fiber of my soaked body that my attempts to speed up the moving process were motivated by fear. I was scared not to have a home for sometime, even for a few days. How very understandable! As soon as I admitted this fear as the motive of my impatient actions, I was able to access another part of me. Deep down I knew that everything would work out just fine.

On that miserable afternoon as I was riding my bike through the pouring rain, I learned how to be more patient. I learned to inquire into my fears. When I notice a feeling of impatience, urgency, restlessness or anxiety that seems to push me into action, I now consider it an invitation to get curious. What am I most afraid of right now? As I name my fear(s), a deeper wisdom rises to the surface. Fears exposed to the light of the day, loose their power.

Here’s how you can learn to be more patient without getting soaking wet:

  • What actions seem urgent in your life right now? – Take a moment to write them down.
  • What are you most afraid of? What’s the worst thing that could happen?
  • Once you have named your fear(s), hold them with compassion.
  • Then take a moment to listen to another internal voice. This voice has a quieter and calmer quality than the fearful voice.
  • Take note of the wisdom offered to you.
  • Take a moment to assess what you need to do to follow your own words of wisdom.
A Lesson on How to Be More Patient

A Lesson on How to Be More Patient – the move worked out just fine, and I now live just minutes away from this beautiful beach!

My move did work out fine. I was able to move into my new home on February 22nd and only had to spend one last night at my old abode. I am grateful for this lesson on how to be more patient and keep this memory as a friendly reminder to listen to the voice of my heart and relax into the knowing that all things unfold at their own pace.

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