Patience

Patience:

Through patience we learn to wait with confidence through the ups and downs of our lives, trusting in God’s enduring love present in all we experience.

–from Fruits and Gifts of the Spirit, Thomas Keating

A Simple Breath-Prayer of Patience

The breath is a spiritual transmitter that allows this exchange to happen. Below is a breath prayer I learned a while ago and continue to find it a practice of deep nourishment. It lets us inhale the life essence of a Fruit, and then exhale it into the atmosphere around us.

• Take a few gentle breaths and relax your thoughts, your emotions, and any tension in your body.

• Breathe in patience. Allow its energy and presence to fill you. Let this spiritual nutrient into your physical being, as well as your spirit and soul.

• As you breathe in patience, feel it nourishing you and feeding you.

• Then breathe out patience, letting it fill the atmosphere around you. Feel yourself sharing that patience with all that is around you.

• Repeat this for several breaths, letting yourself be nourished by patience while simultaneously nourishing the world. When you’re ready, rest in stillness for a few moments before returning to your day.

When we breathe in patience, we remember we’re held by Divine Patience; when we breathe it out, we become a conduit of that same grace.