PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE !

If you could literally see me now, typing this blog, on my special hospital bed, balancing my laptop on my leg, then you would really understand this title!

Today, it is two weeks post operation! Beginning to get to the stage where I cannot wait for them to remove the temporary plaster cast and this will be happening on Friday 26^thApril. Everything is feeling ‘itchy’ and my leg seems to have now shrunk down in size.

Mobility ? Not a lot, I can manage to move from bed to wheelchair and using crutches hop about on one leg. Instructions were not to put any pressure on the plastered leg, but sorry, I am not a flamingo who can have one leg air bound all the time.

The word I am thinking about a lot at the moment is PATIENCE and how having patience is a definite virtue.

The official definition of the word, according to my favourite Oxford English Dictionary is:

Patience (noun): the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious,

This word originates from so-called Middle English or Old French from Latin (patientia) from (patient) suffering, from the verb ‘pati’.

Well now you know and why it is such a virtue.

And we might as well have a look at the word Virtue too:

One of the Paragons of Virtue is: a quality considered morally good or desirable in a person.

Well something to think about isn’t it?

And my goodness my patience is really being tested at the moment. I really feel for people who need assistance all the time. It is so frustrating having to ask someone to do something for you all the time! 

To sort of calm myself down and just accept the fact that the next 4 weeks (after the plaster change on Friday) is an obligatory rest. Many of you may be saying right now: ‘I would give anything for a month’s complete rest!’ I understand that, because we do not get enough rest in our hectic lives these days. But there is a very thin line then between actually ‘having to’ or ‘wanting to’. A very thin line indeed.

I have downloaded an App onto my telephone called CALM. Just what I needed I thought, to calm down and just accept, it is as it is and nothing to do but rest. For a very active person like me, this is not easy believe me. I may be spending the majority of my days behind my laptop writing and yes there is a new story underway at the moment, but at the same time, I love the freedom of movement.

This Easter was probably the best on record and here I was stuck in bed. But all problems can be solved and when a bed has wheels, you can of course just get yourself wheeled out into the garden. That was lovely, lazing in the spring sunshine, in bed. And being able to adjust said bed into exactly the right position. Leg raised so that it does not ‘throb’ and back supported.

My Calm app is doing overtime. It is a mixture of music, stories and meditations. I particularly like the so-called ‘sleepy stories’. A short tale read by someone (usually well known people) who whisper a lovely story into your earphones. The first one I listened to was called ‘Wonders’ read by Hollywood actor Matthew Macconaughey! Wow, it was lovely and especially his soft voice in my ear! In the meantime I have listened to several, just before actually closing off the day and getting to sleep for the night. End result is that usually I don’t hear the end, and wake up next morning with my glasses still on and earphones in having fallen asleep in the middle. Which is probably the idea!

But a real recommendation for all of you out there who have problems with sleeping. I know there is a lot of talk about not watching TV before going to bed, especially violent films and such like, switching off your social media and no not putting the phone to re-change beside your bed! But how many of us actually do that? Not a lot I am guessing.

So my days are all about patience and making it a daily practice. But I know that for some or other reason, which maybe is not entirely clear to me right now, the universe wants me to have a rest. Be totally dependent on others. (Been there and done that a lot before). But I seriously think that sometimes things happen to us at a certain time and later when you look back on the event, you just know it was right.

You cannot explain it logically but you just have to accept it.

Recently during a 21-day meditation online with Deepak Chopra en Oprah Winfrey I learnt something quite important. The theme of the 21-day daily centering thought and meditation was all about ‘Gratitude and Grace’. I loved it, 20 minutes every morning to get myself balanced. Even though the last few days of the workshop I did in bed – post op. It was all about learning to appreciate small things in your life and that way you allowed grace and gratitude to become part of you. I can give you a small example.

Recently whilst having breakfast, I noticed two blue tits collecting stuff for their nests. White fluffy stuff, which I realized was coming from one of my dog’s toys. A ‘hula hula minion’ to be exact. He had left it out in the garden one time and these two were flying back and forth, beaks filled, making a nest. Such a joyful sight to see! It may not be anything really major, on earth shattering, but just a small simple gesture from nature to allow you to appreciate the world in another way.

As I said at the beginning patience is a virtue. Appreciate the smaller things in life, when you are maybe obliged to slow down and do something different for a while. Why not? That is a good question to think about. I have sort of come to the conclusion that by acceptance, I allow grace and gratitude to come into my life, at exactly the right time.

Some inspirational thoughts maybe for a midweek Wednesday?

QUOTE: JOYCE MEYER (FROM ‘BRAINY QUOTES’ GOOGLE)

IMAGES FROM GOOGLE