Patience

 Hello to all of the Natural Health Family. Today we are going to talk about two other emotions, anger and patience. These emotions seem to be more prevalent especially in today’s world. Let’s discuss a little more about these two and why it’s important to understand them for your health and the health of others. 

Anger may be described at a sudden displeasure that is felt from a real or assumed injury or insult and results in a wanting to punish. Now when we think of anger we think of an intense form, maybe one that ends in violence, physical abuse, verbal abuse, etc. However, anger usually does not happen all of a sudden but is built from the subtle feelings of irritation, frustration, and or displeasure. When we don’t recognize these subtle feelings then we are unaware how they could build up in ourselves. The emotion of anger is an energy which causes the body to alter many of the biological functions needed to be healthy. Anger causes a tightening of muscles, slows down the digestion system, makes the heart work excessively, causes the blood to become more acidic, all leading to a decrease in health. The emotion of anger causes large amounts of energy to be depleted from the body and mind. When we allow this emotion to harbor our lives, even in the lesser forms of irritability, we allow energy to be drained from us causing ourselves to be vulnerable to illness. Anger is used to show dominance and power over others but comes initially by means of feeling insecure or inferior to others. We have experienced this emotion many times in our lives and it is ok to have this feeling. If one feels the need to, they should express that anger but never directed at someone else. When we practice and continue to be aware of how we feel we can recognize when we feel anger and choose to express the other degree which is patience. 

Patience is an attribute which gives us the ability to persevere in times of distress. It allows us to make good decisions when faced with adversity. We hear about patience but it seems that many people, when the time comes when it is needed, fail to express patience. Impatience can lead to irritation which leads to anger. Patience must be practiced to others in business, social events but most importantly in our homes and with children. Parents and teachers have a great responsibility to practice patience so that they can teach them how to avoid irritation which may eventually lead to anger. When we don’t practice patience, especially during little times of discouragement, anger will manifest in our lives leading to a series of unfortunate events that could have been avoided. Many times we are faced with challenges and obstacles that test our patience. This creates more endurance for other future events. This is similar to running a marathon. You don’t just run it at once, you must build yourself up to it. However, many times when people face these challenges they become frustrated and that frustration may be pushed out to others. We know that our lives have ups and downs, it is patience which helps us understand that many things have worked out even when we didn’t think they would at the time. Patience helps us stay calm which further helps our bodies stay balanced and sustain the energy needed to live healthy. 

Anger may cause us to perform actions that we then regret later. This regret also keeps us our attention and our energy in the past thus leading to a decrease in health. Practicing patience, even in the more intense circumstances in our lives, may seem like a superhuman task. Nonetheless, just like any skill, we become much better at it when practiced everyday. Anger attracts anger but in the face of patience it is eliminated. Today I encourage you to practice patience with yourself and others. Have a great day!