Daily Reflection

“Patience is not simply the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.” (Joyce Meyer)

When my partner Chris and I visited downtown Cleveland, Ohio for the first time together to attend a pro-baseball game between the Indians and the Red Sox, I was rather excited. As we began to look for a parking space, a car suddenly pulled out in front of us from the side of a road, a mere block from the stadium. I abruptly shouted, “PARK THERE, PARK THERE!!!” Having seen a sign that said it was safe to park on that road for 2 hours, up until 4pm, and given it was well past 2pm, I couldn’t believe our luck, especially since each of those garages we had passed had $25 to $50 price tags to park there for the sporting event. A few dollars to park and then free parking after 4pm, how sweet a deal was that I thought! Unfortunately, a car was directly behind us now and preventing us from backing into the space, so Chris proceeded to drive away.

While I normally have been more patient than not in situations like this in recent years, I wasn’t in this case. Instead, I became irate and started shouting at Chris, losing any bit of serenity, as well as any joy I had for the baseball game that evening. I proceeded to berate my partner in a slew of negative comments and said I should have been the one to drive. I also told him that if he had just been a little more patient, we would have been in that prime and extremely affordable downtown parking spot, rather than having to now park in one of those expensive garages.

Ironically, I was the one who needed to learn another lesson in patience and had to eat every one of my words though, as when we finally made our way back around the block to where that amazing parking spot had been, I noticed a second sign above the one I already read that said, “NO PARKING BETWEEN 4PM AND 6PM.”

All that shouting, all that negativity, all that impatience on my part, all for what? Clearly, I still have some work to do when it comes to cultivating more patience in life. And just so know, Chris eventually found a garage for us to park our car in, a mere block further away from there, all for the low cost of $10, something that a little more patience would have found with ease.

Dear Lord, please help me hold my tongue and practice better patience the next time I find myself in a situation that challenges my ego in thinking it can do a better job than someone or something else.

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson

Author: Andrew Arthur Dawson

A teacher of meditation, a motivational speaker, a reader of numerology, and a writer by trade, Andrew Arthur Dawson is a spiritual man devoted to serving his Higher Power and bringing a lot more light and love into this world. This blog, www.thetwelfthstep.com is just one of those ways...

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