Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim talks about Patience

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim continues teaching about setting goals and concludes with the following advice:

Patience in today’s world is not something that comes easily and naturally, and is something we generally need to acquire. That’s partly because modern technology has given us a measure of instant gratification. Today when we want food, for instance, we can have it instantly at the supermarket, at a fast food drive-in, or at a restaurant. But there was a time when we had to patiently watch over our crops as they grew, milk the cows, pump the water, make the preserves, bake the bread, and so on. There was no room for impatience in that life.

You can take advantage of all of today’s instantaneous resources – such as information technology and communications – to help you along the path toward your goal. But there is no substitute for old-fashioned patience in your pursuits. Not everything will be simply handed to you in a spoon-fed manner. There will almost always be a process involved in realizing your goals, a series of many steps that seemingly start and stop.

Keep in mind that the plateaus you reach on the way are not stopping points. They are just plateaus. It’s important to remember that you are still in motion while you are seemingly “at rest.” This can be very difficult to comprehend. It’s like the people strapped into their airplane seats saying “I want to go somewhere, I want to go somewhere!” It may be hard to convince them that they are going somewhere.

When you are seemingly not in motion, it’s important to keep your mind moving. Remember, when the seed is underground, invisible, it is nevertheless moving rather aggressively. And although you don’t see the motion of the plant growing above the soil, it is nevertheless occurring.

IN the same way, not all of your path will involve radical physical activity. Sometimes your faith and desire will be all you see in motion. But it is motion, it is going somewhere, and you will need patience to ride through to the end. To some extent, the total picture will always be a little outside your scope of vision. You’ll have to trust in the power of your Silent Master to guide you to and through the unseen steps involved. As for a delay in reaching your goal, remember it’s not over ‘til it’s over. As long as you’re here, the opportunity to reach your goals is here! Keep on going!