Daily Gratitude: We all need to follow this advice. Nature is the best model for patience. But as we know nature can also be savage and harsh. In other words “forceful”. There are times in our lives when we have to be forceful too. But most of the time patience and quietude provide the best payoffs.

Nature can appear “quick” though. I love to watch the flowers on my daily walks. One day there’s a bud and the next day it’s in full bloom and one day later it’s gone. It’s tempting to think that’s such a waste. But that flower fulfilled its purpose in the time it had – how many of us can say the same thing? The thing we tend to forget is the period of time where that flower is growing and being nurtured where we don’t see it. The song “The Rose” highlights that beautifully.

“When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long
And you think that love is only
For the lucky and the strong
Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed that with the sun’s love
In the spring becomes the rose”

Nurture the rose within you and then patience will appear.