Patience

So today during work I was asked how I could be so patient with becoming a Jedi when "It seems to hard to do because of how time-consuming it is!" Well, I figured I'd share with my fellow brothers and sisters what I told them. Patience is something that is achieved through practice and discipline. We can all get impatient at times, mainly because it is human nature. But how can we become more patient? Here are my steps.

Step one: Understand why you are impatient.
Let's focus on what is going on here. Why are we impatient at the moment? Perhaps the car won't start at first and you have 20 minutes before work. Perhaps someone in line is taking longer than others, thus causing a longer waiting period. Perhaps you have to do something important, and the printer is taking to long to print one piece of paper. Whatever the case, identify why you are becoming impatient. Focusing on what is "triggering" you at the moment is key to understanding how to overcome it.

Step two: Relax your mind.
Becoming impatient can cause the mind to become chaotic. You start to pace back and forth, you become angrier at times, your voice rising by the second. Take the time, after step one, to focus on relaxing. Yes, things take time to complete, and running around yelling "COME ON" isn't going to hurry things up. This is when you must relax your mind and body, and breathe slowly. Take deep breaths, and clear the mind of hate. Perhaps focus on something peaceful.

Step three: Let go.
After step two, this is when you can finally let go of your feelings. Become one with the force. Let it guide you, flow through your body. Let it penetrate your mind until you become one with it, and can let go of any emotions you are feeling when impatient.

Once all the steps are complete, you can finally achieve peace and patience. I do this every day when someone doesn't listen when asking me for help. I have a job where people will ask questions, and the answers you give will sometimes make them disagree with you, thus causing them to become impatient or angry. I follow these steps to obtain peace while working. If anyone does have a suggestion on how others can achieve patience, feel free to comment your opinions. Any advice is greatly appreciated by me, as well as the others. Thank you for reading this, and May the Force Be With You, always.

Have you read the way of the Peaceful Warrior?

No Ii haven't, but I shall get on that right away.

Seconding the 'Way of the Peaceful Warrior' recommendation!

Thank you for sharing your thoughts...I find step-by-step approaches incredibly helpful when I'm struggling to be calm

Menbl wrote: So today during work I was asked how I could be so patient with becoming a Jedi when "It seems to hard to do because of how time-consuming it is!"

Can I ask what it was about Jediism that your colleague(s) (and yourself?) considered particularly time-consuming? Just curious, as that could be interpreted in several different ways and will therefore influence responses pertaining to patience in the specific context of the Jedi path...

I'd be happy to answer My colleagues believe it is time consuming because of the IP, the 60 day waiting period, and even waiting a week to become a member. All these things make them believe Jediism isn't worth the time. I believe it is wonderful. It teaches patience, and brings you to a wider understanding about the Jedi and the force. I myself do not find it time consuming, but rather a daily ritual for my everyday life. I do practice jediism everyday, and the ritual is coming on here everyday to post my IP stuff, forums, chats and more

Let them know we are fortunately not in the fast food business.

Menbl wrote: My colleagues believe it is time consuming because of the IP, the 60 day waiting period, and even waiting a week to become a member. All these things make them believe Jediism isn't worth the time.

A widened perspective tends to help...when we view those time-frames relative to what, for many of us, becomes a lifelong path...does it really seem so long?

The thing I think most people forget is what you're talking about is merely a requirement for advancement within the site itself. If they're truly interested in Jediism as a whole, they can do so through many different means. And besides, I would think a true interest would mean that they would want to take the time and effort to learn.

Did you also tell your friends that apprenticeships are required to be a minimum of six months? :laugh:


In all seriousness though, I think the problem isn't that there are obvious posted time requirements on things, or even necessarily an inherent lack of patience in people in general. Rather, I think the problem lies in the fact that society - at least "western" society in general - has become a society of immediate gratification. Want to talk to someone? Text them and know that they got the message a nanosecond later. Need the news? Don't bother going out to buy a newspaper, your access to the news is in the palm of your hand via a smartphone with data access. Want to know the paper that you just wrote wasn't "plagiarized" (or want to know the paper that a student submitted to you wasn't) then submit it via this site and get an "originality score" within mere minutes.

There is very little that we're forced to wait for these days in the world of instant data access. Obviously there are some things. Governments are still going to take eons to process your unemployment request or visa request or what have you. You still have to wait for medical care, etc etc etc etc....

But small things, we get almost immediately. Society has become one of expecting that immediate gratification of nearly everything that when we get told we have to take the time to do something, we have no idea how to respond anymore. And more often than not, like your friends, we throw up our hands and say "the hell with it"... So no, I wouldn't say it's a lack of patience so much as societal conditioning...

Many of the people in my community seem to see Jediism as "hard" and not "worth the time". The Temple did say this is going to be a long path that does require patience (since most things require you to wait a certain amount of time), but again it really depends on if they want to try it. I do have two colleagues who are thinking of becoming members because they too believe in the Jedi ways. It really depends if you have the patience for all this. I have been coming here every day since I came to the Temple, and even before then studied the ways of the Jedi. I find this as something I truly believe in and follow everything through and through every day. I did tell one of them about the apprenticeship, and they seemed to become flabbergasted, yet also intrigued.