“Patience is a virtue,” goes the old saying. In our modern age of immediate access and speed, patience may not be something many of us practice much. But it is one of the key attitudes of mindfulness and we must recognize that slowing down our busy minds takes practice. We’ve probably all experienced the challenge of breaking persistent behavior and know that habits don’t change overnight, permanent change takes time.

How can we participate with patience? Our western culture is based on speed, we travel fast, we have machines that help us find the shortest route or the fastest route; we have fast food or take away food; we work on fast, high-speed internet 3G to 4G to 5G; we have quick access to our bank accounts and use instant cashless transactions for ease and speed; we have fast housework, with automation and machines for cleaning and washing our homes and clothes, all to save us time and effort. We are not encouraged to stop and take our time, so patience is not something we practice on a regular basis.

One of the best ways to patiently engage is to observe the natural world. There are very few things in the natural world that happen instantly. Growing a plant from seed is an excellent example of patience, it can be an extremely rewarding experience. Many people find interaction with plants to be a relaxing activity, gardening or growing food teaches us to wait and watch. Interacting with nature simply by walking through it has also been shown to be beneficial. Physical activity in the form of a forty-minute walk in the woods is associated with better mood and feelings of health and robustness. Studies have been done showing that ‘forest bathing’ (being in the presence of trees and forests) reduced levels of the stress hormone cortisol in test subjects after a walk in the woods, compared to a control group of subjects who participated in walks within a laboratory setting. Forest bathing seems to significantly mitigate the root cause of a multitude of ailments associated with stress. It promotes rest, conserves energy and slows the heart rate while increasing intestinal and glans activity. Lower cortisol levels are also a sign that the body’s stress response system is becoming less activated. Walk slowly through the forest, be aware of the timeline of the trees, measured in lifetimes for us, perhaps the ultimate in our experience of patience.

Taking a moment out of our busy lives to make time to connect with nature is one way to include patience in our lives. The response we get and the benefits we receive may not be immediate, but the effects will be felt over time. Any opportunity we take to slow down and just be in the moment, holding ourselves back from chasing the future (which may never happen) is an opportunity to practice patience. Mindfulness practices encourage us to stop and focus on being aware of the present, not on wishing our time would go away.

Along with the scientific research on ‘forest bathing’, research also supports the inclusion of patience as a health benefit of mindfulness. The virtue of patience is that it allows us to accept that it has to take time before the benefits are achieved.

There has been considerable research on the benefits of embracing mindfulness, which has shown that the effects are cumulative over time. Most training sessions are spread over an eight week period, based on regular guided weekly sessions and personal daily practice. The calming influence of mindfulness practice on our emotions takes time and patience to develop. A study of the 8-week MBSR course for nurses showed that their mindfulness practice facilitated empathic attitudes while decreasing their tendency to take on other people’s negative emotions. [Beddoe & Murphy, (2004)].

Patience is a form of wisdom. It shows that we understand and accept the fact that sometimes things have to unfold in their own time. A child may try to help a butterfly emerge by breaking its chrysalis. Usually the butterfly does not benefit from this. Any adult knows that the butterfly can only emerge in due time, that the process cannot be rushed.

Jon Kabat Zinn

Every time we practice mindfulness, we engage in patience. Being aware of the passage of time, allowing ourselves to experience time without striving or rushing to the next thing, often seems selfish, but it’s not. Self-care is vitally important, devoting time to our own well-being means that we can help others. Being mindful and patient with our consciousness journey will allow us to fully experience it.