Learning to Be Patient with Yourself

Have you ever wanted to slow down and listen to your own soul? 

In this episode, you’ll hear a short, untitled poem, written by Lia Girard, and consider its deeper meaning as it applies to your own desire for patience while going through seasons of change. Lia offers encouragement to be gracious with yourself as you continually learn how to grow.

Today’s episode invites you to: 

- Let go of striving to be all you’re meant to be

- Protect your own timing and needs

- Remember that you are a one-of-a-kind creation

You’ll also be given a word, inspired by the poem, to ponder as your week unfolds. 

Lia Girard is a poet, writer, author, wife, and mom whose feature articles are found on iBelieve.com, Crosswalk.com, and other inspirational platforms. 

You can explore her poetry, often inspired by the wonders of nature, on Instagram: @wildpeace.poetry. 

If you love the show, or any episode resonates with you, please rate or review the show on your favorite platform, or email your feedback to lia@wildpeacepoetry.com.

Transcript

Speaker 0:01

Hello, and welcome to Heart of a Wildflower. This is a space that invites you to slow down, reconnect, and find beauty even in hard seasons. I'm Lia Girard, your host, and I'm so glad you're here. In each episode, we'll consider an aspect of love, longing or life, such as heartache, healing, or hope, by reading and exploring a poem together. We'll end with a thoughtful word or phrase to contemplate as your week unfolds. Today, let's examine a pocket-sized poem I wrote about being patient with yourself. And in the spirit of being patient with myself, I'm going to go ahead and confess that I've been unable to craft a title for this poem after trying and trying. And I actually think admitting that is a great place for you and I to start. Here is the tiny untitled poem. And while I do understand that I'm made for more, right now I choose patience because I'm still learning how to form the kind of chrysalis that will protect and encourage metamorphosis. Does anything in this little poem remind you of yourself? Have you ever wished you could already be everything you're meant to be? Or as people love to say today, doing exactly what you're made for? For moths and butterflies, the miracle of metamorphosis happens instinctively, although they do still do the work of creating a comfortable haven for their own becoming. You and I, on the other hand, explore what we're made for, make our way, and help ourselves change and grow by exercising our free will. You know there's always more to learn, better habits to build, new adventures to brave. And sometimes you might choose to pursue one or many of these. Or perhaps you choose to wait. That's why the third line of this poem is, right now I choose. This whole poem is really about practicing the patience to choose what's best for you at any age, at any stage. Case in point, as I was writing this poem, I wanted the words to sound right, feel right, be right. I remembered a mentor of mine who once told me it's a lot easier to write a lot. Choosing to use less is the hard work. And in writing this poem, I went through that practice. I patiently cut back and rearranged until the poem felt plain and honest. I wrote it because I wonder if you might also sense that life can get overwhelming. It can feel like a lot of tending to spaces and relationships, obligations, and mindsets that sometimes don't feel right size for you. Maybe there's some repetitive habits in your life that pull you away from things that feel gentler to your mental or physical health. Maybe there are even people or dreams more suited to you. There's a lot of noise out here today about being all you're meant to be. That's why I left all out of this poem. Anyone can have a sense of being made for something different, but I don't believe in the pressure to be all I'm meant to be. How can I ever even know what that feels and looks like unless I choose the unpredictable and painstaking paths that are required to continually grow in wisdom? Personally, I've been through several lengthy seasons of defining and then redefining what family and home and marriage and love all look like for me. I've needed patience to begin to understand where I feel safe to grow. I've always been drawn to the notion of cocooning, of intentionally quieting and calmly trusting. So I wanted this poem to paint the picture of a caterpillar waiting to become a butterfly. And in my research, I discovered something I never knew. Moths transform inside a cocoon, and butterflies emerge from a chrysalis, which is actually the hardened exoskeleton of the butterfly that the caterpillar is becoming. So I chose to use this beautiful word chrysalis here because it felt more fitting than cocoon. Also, just like people, both moths and butterflies come in an astounding variety of colors and patterns. Even these magical creatures that we associate with flight and freedom must also be patient in their own unique way to eventually realize their one-of-a-kind, stunning potential. Please let me remind you today that you're allowed to protect and honor your seasons of changing however long they last, or how they feel, or in whatever way each one turns out for you. Because as this poem says, you're still learning what metamorphosis means for you. As we close, I'd like to leave you with a word from the poem to ponder. And that word is patience. What does it look like or feel like when you honestly are being patient with your own progress? Is there some self-imposed deadline or expectation you're pressuring yourself with that you could choose to just let unfold naturally? I'd love it if you could say to yourself, this doesn't need to happen all at once. And then have faith that whatever amount of energy you have for it, even if some days it's none, it's always enough to continue learning what's meant for you. Thank you for spending this time with me today. I hope it offered you room to reflect and reconnect with yourself. If this episode spoke to you, please share it with a friend or drop me an email at lia@wildpeacepoetry.com. You can also find my poetry and message me on Instagram @ wildpeace.poetry. Until next time, keep blooming in your own wild and wonderful way.