I invite you to reflect on these three principles for “harnessing the power of patience as a creative force in daily life,” as outlined by Oliver Burkeman in Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals:
“Develop a taste for having problems.” The sooner we welcome uncertainty and not-knowing as normal ways of being, the better off we’ll be. To reinforce this point, Burkeman quotes the French poet Christian Bobin: “I was peeling a red apple from the garden when I suddenly understood that life would only ever give me a series of wonderfully insoluble problems. With that thought, an ocean of profound peace entered my heart.”
“Embrace radical incrementalism.” If we work at something a little bit every day, we tend to cultivate the patience it takes to get better at something. It also helps if we quit our day’s work when it’s finished, and save more for tomorrow.
“More often than not, originality lies on the far side of unoriginality.” When we notice that we’re traveling not our own creative path but someone else’s, we can start where we are, and patiently allow our path to find itself.
(My thanks to Oliver Burkeman via Austin Kleon.)
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The Gentle Nudge
I’m currently out of studio. No free Raft events this week.
I can often be impatient , which does not serve me well. As I’ve aged I’ve grown in awareness of my propensity in this area & can usually tame my impatience :))
It’s an ongoing life lesson & I am pleased with my progress & mor3 forgiving of myself when I catch myself 😉
Phyllis, you and the universe served up perfect timing with this post! 🙏🏽🙏🏼