Patience and Waiting

Are they covering up fear?My take in this

I come to experience avoidance and Escapism as ways of refusing to confront fear.

Sometimes patience and waiting can both be Avoidance and Escapism. Even when in the surface they look like a good thing o actually as good virtues even, and maybe in cases they do.

Avoidance and Escapism are ways of running away from Fear or refusing to confront Fear.

This article is to help you to detect the moments when either or both of them are just Fear covering itself through the lens of waiting and patience.

First things first: Patience and waiting generally speaking they come together and maybe they are even connected for many of us.

Second point would be to ask ourselves in a situation where we are being patient: Why am I being patient? Am I waiting for something to happen?

These two questions will place you in the right place of identifying if the situation you are at, do need patience (here is the patience that is a virtue) or Not (The purpose of this article).

The other way to also detect this pattern is to notice the activities you are indulging at, even if these are activities that are beneficial and wonderful.

Why?

Many of the activities we do sometimes comes from a desire to run away from our reality.

*I know this could sound such a cliche but bear with me*

Our reality (especially if we are struggling with a certain situation or we are stuck in a certain situation would mean dealing with difficult emotions).

Our mind interpretates this as danger and will act accordingly. As if it were truly danger.

And Avoidance and Escapism can simply mean FLIGHT response, or a run away response masked with patience and waiting (Which both come from different cultures and religions and viewed as good virtues)..

And we love to be good as humans. We love to perceive ourselves as good.

You get the trap? Why can we fall into this without noticing?

Now if you want to know if you are in such a condition, get your journal and work these prompts:

1-What does patience mean to me? And what does waiting mean?

I find it helpful to google the meaning of the words. It helps me with understanding the words.

one of the definitions of patience is the ability to persevere over a long period of time despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity. Check it here.

2-Write down the situation. Write it fully. Take your time.

3-Am I being patient here?What do I get by being patient here?

4-Am I waiting? For whom? For what?

These will help you have clarity about a certain situation and to detect Avoidance and Escapism.