The Treasure We Look For Is Hidden

Patience is a hard discipline.
It is not just waiting
until something happens over which we have no control:
    the arrival of the bus,
    the end of the rain,
    the return of a friend,
    the resolution of a conflict.

Patience is not a waiting passivity
until someone else does something.
Patience asks us
    to live the moment to the fullest,
    to be completely present to the moment,
    to taste the here and now,
    to be where we are.

When we are impatient
we try to get away from where we are.
We behave as if the real thing will happen
    tomorrow,
    later and
    somewhere else.

Let’s be patient and trust
that the treasure we look for is hidden
in the ground on which we stand.

- Henri Nouwen - 

Artist: Maureen L White, www.urbanpasturesart.com