At this time of year, life can be very hectic. Holidays are over. It’s back-to-school and back-to-work time for many families. Teachers are making preparations. Parents are working hard to establish a smooth daily routine that enables them to get their children up and out-the-door on time. Such an undertaking can be a challenge! As one father said, “Getting kids ready for school each day would test the patience of a Saint”. What’s the answer? Have MORE patience. It’s good for your health.
HAVE MORE PATIENCE
Teachers, parents, and child-minding grandparents, often need truckloads of patience. Why? Because this relationship-smoothing, health-giving quality of thought produces well-balanced, harmonious, daily activity. It fosters calmness, and enables us to be tolerant of delays or problems, without becoming angry or upset. Patience is so valuable and needed these days that it’s considered to be a virtue – a character trait that’s not only morally good, but very desirable in every person.
TIPS:
– Overcome frustrating family situations with patience. Stay calm. Don’t let anyone or anything upset you. God made you calm and He keeps you calm. You are God’s calm reflection.
– Master the art of patience. Embrace it more fully. Patience helps build emotional and spiritual maturity. It produces a better balanced mental state and attitude to family life. It enables you to move through stressful times with grace and poise.
– Have patience with learning, and with learners. Be prepared to teach kids what they have to do as part of the daily routine. Establish a logical order for the day ahead. In time you’ll build helpful attitudes and practices, and achieve a smooth running household.
– In dealing with a difficult, or grumpy family member, resist the impulse to react. Stay calm-and-collected. “Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” Bible James 1:19
– Remind yourself that you have an abundance of self-control. You have patience. You’ve been created a cool, composed, unruffled person. You have equanimity – evenness of mind. You’re perfectly balanced. Bible Genesis 1:27.
– If confronted with willfulness or disobedience, take a deep breath. Stay loving. A loving attitude helps you stay patient, calm. It helps you keep an emotional balance. Love “…is not easily provoked”. Bible 1 Corinthians 13:5
– Remember what’s most needed from all of us – parents, children and teachers, is “… growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good deeds.” Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health p.4
– Be calm. Resolve delays or problems without becoming angry or upset. Be proactive. Have MORE patience. You’ll find it’s good for your health.
This article has been published on Motherpedia. Read more by me on Motherpedia…
Also published in the February edition of the Around Point Cook, Around Altona and Around Hoppers Crossing community newspapers in print and online via Issuu.
It’s a New Year! It’s the time when Aussies come together in January to celebrate the good things their homeland has to offer them. Some mark the day by having a barbecue lunch with family and friends. Others participate in official citizenship ceremonies that acknowledge new arrivals who want to call Australia home. Most of all, the occasion celebrates the hope that the year ahead will be a happy one – filled with continued peace, health and prosperity for everyone – ourselves, our family and friends included. So how do you have a happy New Year – one that’s good for your health?
It’s December. The countdown is on. Excitement is building. The pace is quickening. Life is getting hectic. There’s end-of-school activities, office parties, Christmas break-ups, and holiday plans to make; not to mention, shopping, gift wrapping, mailing items, putting up the decorations, cooking and preparing for the all-important family Christmas dinner. With so much to do – especially for Mums, it can take the shine off this happy festive season. Yet it’s possible to maintain the sparkle of joyous anticipation, remain stress-free, and really enjoy Christmas. What’s more it’s good for your health.
It’s officially Spring! A time when the days warm up, our gardens bloom, new leaves form, and trees burst into blossom. It’s the season when we don those new Spring fashions, try out fresh Spring colours, and generally emerge from our cocoons. Spring is also a good time to throw off what Shakespeare calls the “winter of our discontent”, and engage in some life-invigorating Spring cleaning for the heart and mind. So here’s how to Spring clean now. What’s more, it’s good for your health.
Be encouraging! Everyone likes to do well. And while we don’t seek applause for being a caring parent, or a hard worker, or just plain doing a good job in life, receiving someone’s praise and encouragement can give us a much needed lift. It can help us keep going when we’re feeling down, or when life is hectic or times are tough. That’s why it’s important for us to be encouraging of ourselves, and each other. It’s good for our health.