Image: Flickr/Martin Gommel

“Patience serves against wrongs as clothes do against cold. For if you put on more clothes as the cold increases, it will have no power to hurt you.” (Leonardo Da Vinci)

For some reason, people tend to associate patience with weakness. We may not say it out loud, but we certainly think it from time-to-time. But having patience with others doesn’t mean you just sit back and allow yourself to become a doormat. Patience does not mean being passive.

Having patience is more about being truly present in the moment and seeing things for what they really are. It’s recognizing that many of the things that “push our buttons” or annoy us so much don’t really have as much power as we think they do.

When we can calm ourselves we can see that most of the things that set us off aren’t even about us. Someone else’s tantrum or bad mood rarely has anything to do with you. It’s pointless to take it personally. Instead, put on another layer of patience like a warm cardigan. When you’re comfortable with yourself, you can be comfortable with others.