Love requires patience and self-compassion

I’m sure many of you have heard about the term ‘love is patient’ in the sharings of previous teachers. Obviously, all of us know what ‘love’ and what ‘patient’ means. But have you wondered why love is ‘patient’ ? Why couldn’t love be other adjectives such as ‘love is loyal’ or ‘love is trustworthy’. From the sharings
of different teachers, they have mentioned that love and patience exist simultaneously in school,
at home, or even in our society. Whether they are from our family members, teachers or
schoolmates. Yet, we often forget about giving the same amount of love and patience to the
most important person in our lives, which is ourselves.

Everyone will encounter hardships and face different challenges in their lifetime. Most of the
time, things are uncontrollable and unpredictable. When we are facing difficulties, we often
consider ourselves not good enough to do something or not worthy enough to accomplish
something. However, almost everything in our lives happens to us, we cannot control them. The
most relatable example is that students may think they are worthless, simply because they
failed a test or being scolded by their parents, although they have tried their best already.
Hence, we should never let any hardship or discomfort define our worth. We should be kind and
compassionate to ourselves, and believe that everything will be okay someday. It just requires
time and patience.

To achieve self-love, patience is the key. We are trapped in a box called ‘time’ every single day.
It’s like a walking timer that follows us everywhere we go. It puts us in unwanted pressure and
tells us to hurry. Despite the fact that time is going to be with us for the rest of our lives. We
have to comfort ourselves that it is normal to feel depressed sometimes. During the process of
healing, it requires patience and self-compassion to overcome those obstacles we are facing.
Therefore, patience is the first and foremost to maintain self-love in ourselves.

All in all, it is not simple to be kind to ourselves when we are confronted with hardships. Yet, be
patient and let our compassion grow overtime. Someday, we will find ourselves surrounded by
our own affection and care. Be kind, be patient and love yourself.

Red House
14 September 2022