Patience

My greatest difficulty with others is my expectation that they have arrived rather than they are under construction.  However, I do want others to know that I am not complete and perfect, but that I am growing toward perfection.  This sounds a bit hypocritical and it is, but it may be a very likely tendency of humans.

When I am working with someone and they have a professional role I expect them to live up to that professionalism without exception.  I am terribly challenged to look at a person in a professional role as someone who is under construction.  Likewise, when someone is dressed to the nines or has the perfect hair or the fanciest car, I am likely to think they have it all together and should live to that standard.

In reality the professional that I have such high expectations of is really just a person in a role.  If I met that person on the street and had no idea what their profession was what would I expect of them?  How would I interact with that person?  If the "all together" person came to the grocery store with sweatpants and a hoodie with no makeup or fancy car, would I see them as more as a person under construction?

I believe that if all of my interactions started with the thought that I am encountering a person who is under construction, they would be steeped in patience and love.  I would tolerate more imperfection.  I would mentor more.  I would offer more kindness and acceptance.  Actually, I would be a much better person to interact with, if I was patient with the human-ness that I encounter with others.

So today's challenge:  be patient.  Be patient with others and with yourself.  Accept that we are all on a journey and have achieved different levels of growth.  We are all under construction and with patience we will become something much more beautiful than we are today.  If we treat one another with patience we will have room to grow and in so doing we will be making the world a better place.