Finding Patience and Acceptance
One of the most inveterate struggles that I am dealing with right now and have been dealing with since the beginning of lockdown has been coming to terms with the present world that we are dealing with, and my role in it. This world is one of isolation and general disheartening perspectives towards daily life. As with everyone, this pandemic has made “normal” life very difficult to achieve.
Day-in and day-out I am doing the same things. Most days, I am trying very hard to find good in my few lockdown-appropriate activities but some days are like today where I just want to move on in the worst way.
I am a person who likes to work towards things. I like having new goals and finding new ways to grow. I thrive on having lots of activities and meeting new people. This life has certainly been interrupted.
Something that I struggled with prior to the pandemic was having patience. Since we have been in quarantine this feeling has just heightened. I want to have control over pretty much everything in my life and as much control over the future events that will transpire in my life. This just isn’t possible in any way. We can work hard, but we can’t predict that things will work out the way in which we planned it.
We are in such an uncertain time, and as highly versatile beings, we have adapted to this way of life due to COVID. In some respects this is good, but we can’t lose sight of a more prosperous way of living which is contingent upon interacting with others face-to-face. So, I hope younger people don’t acquire the mindset that this is how we are going to live from now on. It is extremely understanding that this time is hard for all of us and takes a toll on all of our mental healths. From the scientists creating vital vaccines to the individuals who are doing their best to socially-distance and isolate, we should all be proud of ourselves for our massive effort to combat the virus.
Individually, I am doing my best to play my part, but on these days where I feel stuck, I am trying hard to do things that keep me from feeling discontent.
I have discovered the only tasks that I can take right now to prevent obsession and discontentedness are trying to be more patient and trying to accept my life as it is at the moment.
Sometimes, thinking too much about the future and all the fun things I will do then stings too much. So, trying to maintain a new attitude is all that can be done. We can tell ourselves all we want that this situation won’t last that much longer, but that can’t alleviate all of the discontent or even pain that we are feeling. It doesn’t solve our day-to-day struggles.
Here are some things that have helped me to become more patient:
Practicing mindfulness and meditation. Meditating at least once a day can not only give you more clarity in all situations in your life, but actually change your brain chemistry in a beneficial way.
Journal it out. Sometimes just getting your feelings out on paper can release some of the tension you are feeling towards a particular situation or person. Even burn that piece of paper you wrote on afterwards if you feel the need to and it helps you release negativity.
Remind yourself that you’re a work in progress and that you won’t become a patient person overnight.
Become aware of the great things that you still have access to in your life and take advantage of those things.
Find comfort in the fact that you aren’t alone in dealing with these things.
Find acceptance.
I think the last one can be the most challenging yet important. We need to find acceptance for our current situation. By finding acceptance for every aspect and thought we have towards our current daily life we can give less power to how painful it can be. Our impatience for wanting life to resume as our pre-pandemic “normal” only brings discontent in our lives. By accepting everything, I mean everything we can lessen our discomfort.
This also means finding acceptance for the fact that we don’t feel okay and allowing ourselves to feel this way. If we don’t accept our feelings and thoughts fully then they will linger and even grow. Fighting how we feel only heightens those feelings.
I know for many of us nothing would make us happier than the pandemic ending tomorrow. As we can’t have that wish, we need to do our best to make our situations better until that auspicious day finally comes. Finding acceptance for our lives, and finding acceptance for our judgmental, upsetting, overwhelming, and anxiety-inducing feelings will help us. It’s truly okay to not be positive all of the time.
So, if you don’t want to do any of these things I suggested above, then by all means don’t. Each one of us has to do what is best for us, subjectively. Only we know how to do that. We should allow ourselves to feel our feelings and give them the space that they deserve in order to be released. When they are released, we can get on with our lives and perhaps even feel a sense of contentment.
