Welcome to the Grow Inward Podcast, I am your host Adrian Petrillo.
Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience! Ralph Waldo Emerson.
What a great lesson that we can all take to heart and bring ever closer into our daily life and practice, especially in a society whose defining quality is impatience. Of course I can only speak for the country where I live, but I have a feeling that it extends a bit further than that?
It is ironic to me what a hurry science seems to be in to “move things forward”, and yet we aren’t even able to effectively use the incredible wisdom that we have accumulated over thousands of years? Maybe we should take a little time out and re-evaluate this pathological desire to quickly accomplish more, and instead focus some much needed energy on implementing the infinite number of well-established principles and practices that we already know. Let’s implement tools and principles that help us live more closely in harmony with our environment and with each other?
These tools and principles can be used in relation to housing, agriculture, medicine, psychology, education, leadership, and nearly every other category that you can think of. We have mountains of documented ways to live better, but we keep chasing the proverbial carrot on a stick, and for what exactly? If we can’t even effectively use the wisdom that we have already, then what can adding more complexity possibly do to help matters?
Now I don’t know about you, but if today’s direction of science, education, leadership, politics, and governments doesn’t alarm you, then I don’t know what possibly could? We can’t even organize our societies and systems in a responsible way, despite everything we already know? We run in circles thinking if we only get this then we will have that. If we can only create this then we can solve that? It is complete nonsense, new technology and breakthroughs are not the only answers available to the problems we face.
You know what might be, a healthy dose of patience and integrity? All leadership should take a few steps back for some serious re-evaluating of our untenable lack of patience and integrity, something which has plagued societies for millennia! This doesn’t end well, how many times must hard earned wisdom be dismissed before we actually get the point, and why must we always be at odds with powerful greedy and corrupt leaders who clearly don’t care about the rest of the world?
A hurried culture that is always chasing more, bigger, and better is hopelessly lost in a delusion. It is an addiction that has no solution, it is a ghost and it will always be just that! I am not suggesting that progress is a bad thing, but the very idea of progress is incredibly subjective.
Here is a real simple example of what I mean, I would consider the promotion and implementation of long and well-established thermal efficiency principles into home designs and buildings as a rule, rather than an option, this would be progress. I say this because it would significantly reduce the energy footprint of homes and buildings, which would provide longer term net energy savings over the life of these homes, and by extension the overall living costs to the home owners, while further reducing the overall use of fossil fuels over the life of the home.
Since the materials for building homes require an enormous amount of energy to produce, it would have made sense to build smarter for the last several decades having access to this knowledge, reaping a longer term benefit for a slightly higher cost up front, right? Had we been practicing this simple idea since acquiring a firm understanding of these principles, the results would have had a significantly positive effect on energy usage needs today.   
Now this is just one example, and there are countless others with significant and tangible benefits that could be applied, but we just aren’t doing enough of that? Now, some people measure progress by saying that once we achieve the singularity, and machines can think for themselves, then they will be able to solve all the world’s most difficult problems for us. Well, that may be possible, however, what about the level of complexity that we are introducing for which we have no clear understanding?
We have no idea how super intelligence will behave and as it evolves exponentially we will quickly become incapable of understanding it in any meaningful way. By adding this type and level of complexity to an already complicated series of problems we are facing, you have to ask if this is truly progress, or just a new complex unknown that we cannot possibly comprehend, let alone control. I suppose we will find out soon enough?
Rapid AI development without some very serious considerations and rules is a colossal misstep in the pursuit of this so called progress, one that may well be our complete undoing. It is a misstep which puts our entire world at risk unnecessarily, no conversation and no permission was ever granted by any of us who will be deeply and irreversibly affected? This is completely devoid of morality at best, and has the potential to erase humanity entirely at worst. That may sound alarmist, but an honest assessment of the potential consequences here is nothing short of terrifying in my opinion.
Unfortunately, we have already crossed this threshold, we have opened Pandora’s Box and there is no turning back now. I don’t appreciate a complex decision of this magnitude being made without an honest and thorough discussion between all people, governments, and militaries, I certainly would have never agreed to this as is!
Mark my words, we should have exercised much more humility in our quest to play god! People are increasingly unwilling to exercise patience to find what they are missing within themselves through internal inquiry anymore, they choose speed over wisdom so quickly, always willing to chase progress outside of themselves with a blind fervor that is as deceptive as it is foolish.
My point here is that our supposed advanced society isn’t even patient enough to sift through implementing knowledge we already have access to, and there are some obvious reasons that come to mind. We are far from a level playing field when it comes to the haves and the have nots, and powerful interests will always protect those interests. I realize that it is more complicated than this, but we desperately need to be creating solutions that serve all of us, not just some of us, and we need to think and act very differently when it comes to how we move forward.
When money, power, and control are the only goals driving your model of reality, patience is the last thing on your mind. Unfortunately, there is far too much of this today and it limits our ability to ever have any peace. There will never be peace as long as money, power, and control continue to be the ultimate goal for any one person or group.
Take a moment to consider how much patience is required for say maintaining a healthy relationship, whether romantic or otherwise, the same rules apply. It is not a stretch to say that the more patience and understanding you can bring to the table, the healthier your relationship will become? This dynamic extends far beyond our interpersonal relationships as well. People are fighting more and more with one another demanding to be heard, but completely uninterested in how anybody else feels or thinks? This dynamic can never work. Bringing even a small amount of modesty and respect back into the fold would go a long way to improving things for everyone.
It’s completely fine to have your beliefs and to be yourself, but you don’t have to announce everything to everyone all of the time. Thoughts and beliefs are yours, and you most certainly have a right to them, but common courtesy and respect for others means keeping some things to yourself. Not out of repression directed against you, but out of common courtesy and respect for your fellow human being?
Not everyone is the same, and this is a good thing. I know the world wasn’t perfect when I grew up, but modesty was much more prevalent, and it went a long way toward preventing conflicts. We should not be seeking out conflict in the name of making our voices heard, be whoever you are or need to be, but you can do that without imposing that on others. We all deserve this boundary, and it begins by demonstrating a little patience and tolerance.
Developing patience and tolerance is extremely valuable, take some time to slow yourself down internally and it will be so much easier to find using practices like meditation and mindfulness. You aren’t doing yourself any favors by reacting to people or situations rather than thoughtfully responding, there is a big difference. You can be heard in many different ways.
The enemy of patience is expectation. If you have issues with this, it is good to take a step back and consider why you have the expectation of being heard in a particular way, this is often a deeper inner desire that is the perfect kind of thing to bring to your practice. Meditate on these things, take time to slow down and really find the source of what bothers you most.
If you will take the time to sit quietly and contemplate issues with patience and tolerance, you can gain some great insights that you can take back out into the real world. See how they work, try shifting the way you look at the need to be heard. If it is necessary to make yourself heard that is fine, but question if that is really true, it may not always be?
We have done great damage to ourselves and our world by living a hurried and worried life, it just isn’t necessary. We aren’t accomplishing anything great or wonderful by doing that, sorry? Spend more time slowing down and taking better care of yourself starting within, learn about your triggers and motivations. Practice being more patient and tolerant when these things come up within you. Bring your questions and challenges back to your practice and meditate on them to find more answers, this is a very good and healthy approach to these kings of things.
Patience is an incredibly valuable skill, you would be amazed at how much stress that impatience is adding to your life. In fact, I invite you to pay attention to this for a day and gauge it for yourself, consider the events where impatience plays the lead role in your frustration and stress. It won’t take you long to see that this is a great place to work on in your life. It applies to all of us, and it isn't a one and done kind of effort. It take work, consistent attention and work.
Consider how patience is affecting your relationships as well, try looking at it from both points of view. What about while driving, this is a great place to observe just how little patience and tolerance people have today. You have to wonder what all the hurry is about, is everyone that excited to get to work or to wherever they need to be? I seriously doubt that! Impatience only leads to anger, and this doesn't help any of us anymore. We must find a better way, and that is where personal growth can become such a useful tool in your life.
Don't be a part of the majority, step outside of the bounds of what is accepted as normal. Take regular time for yourself, and cultivate patience within yourself through your practice. Even this requires patience, and it is the perfect place to practice and perfect it.
There is no doubt that patience is the universal hurdle that we all struggle with, but instant gratification isn't always perfect either. It tends to be fleeting and only leaving you wanting more, it makes much more sense to learn how to accept our perceived frustrations as part of life. They never last forever, and if we can learn at least a modest level of acceptance of them over our lifetime it will definitely improve the quality of our life.
The world needs more patience more than ever, and you can do a great service by improving your own. This is something that I work on all the time, and yes I fail often, but I never give up trying to change it one small decision at a time. I suppose that means that I am exercising patience by learning patience (laughs). I invite you to try improving your own patience wherever it makes sense, I bet you would gladly welcome less stress and anxiety in your life, no?
Until next time, never underestimate the power you have within you, and keep growing inward.
