thesoulpurposedotorg

Forget the past, for it is gone from your domain! Forget the future, for it is beyond your reach! Control the present! Live supremely well now! It will whitewash the dark past, and compel the future to be bright! This is the way of the wise.

Paramahansa Yogananda

By nature, I am not a patient person. I learned the hard way that God answers prayer for patience by bringing to one’s awareness situations that require patience. I don’t pray for patience anymore! However, prayer itself is an exercise in patience…it is waiting for God who comes to us, Emmanuel himself, the Spirit herself.
To “control the present” certainly cannot mean the pitiful attempt to make everything work according to the desire of the day by sheer willpower. Control requires the utmost of patience with myself and with the situation of the moment.
I usually wait an hour past my appointment time to see my chiropractor. In the past (that dark time that is no longer within my domain) I would have walked up to the counter and demanded to know how much longer it would be and proclaim the value of my time and exclaim my displeasure. My children referred to this as “ mom getting her bitch up. See why I like this whole idea of whitewashing my past?
Today was like every other day I have visited the chiropractor. I always bring something to read and my MP3 player on which to listen. It was a snowy day today and I was the only one in the waiting room. Usually it is filled with assorted characters, many of whom appear to have very little in life. On those days, I have become accustomed to praying for each of them, focusing my attention on each one and blessing them silently. There have been times I have seen a grumpy person turn to me and smile…times I’ve seen a tear sliding down a man’s cheek..times I’ve seen a child become calm. Most of the time, I just have that unspeakable peace in the region of my heart. Today, there was none of that – just a silent waiting. As the nurse walked me to the examining room. she remarked about the snow storm and icy weather. I smiled at her and she asked me if it didn’t bother me. I said truthfully “I love the snow – it turns everything beautiful and I don’t mind driving in it. The roads in this area are always plowed and well maintained. I love it here.” She looked at me in dismay and said, “Nothing bothers you! I’ve noticed this about you. You never get upset at waiting, you are always calm and smiling. You must be the most laid back person I know!” I just smiled…and that dark past of anxious impatient control was whitewashed into the gentle power of patiently waiting and a day of living supremely well.