Adirondack with magine!
02.01.2010

























Adirondack Header with magine
Michael Fox CPCC,
founder of  magine!,
is a professional
coach and trainer,
author and creative artist, whose work has been featured throughout
the world.
Patience...
Have a bit of patience, please, while I get to my point, but...have I mentioned I have a passion for baseball and its historic legacy?

I've stood atop "The Green Monster" of Boston's Fenway Park. I've sat among the "Bleacher Creatures" in the right field grandstand of New York's old Yankee Stadium. I've witnessed a ball fly over the ivy-covered outfield walls of Chicago's Wrigley Field. I've walked through the tunnel and on to the field of Abner Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, New York, the fabled--that is to say, not the actual--birthplace of baseball. It isn't difficult for me to imagine layers of ghostly players from multiple eras, batting the ball, running to first, chasing a fly. These venerable ballparks are timeless spaces, playing host to men playing a boys' game, without the intrusion of a clock.

Granted, you can look about and find timepieces even in the confines of an "ancient" baseball park. A clock on the scoreboard announces the local time; a cage protects an analog clock in the dugout from an errant foul ball; a fan might wear a watch, as does at least one big league manager--curious, indeed (although, the way his team is currently playing, he might be counting the minutes until he can leave the park). A timepiece in a baseball park, however, has no impact upon the game; as a matter of fact, a timepiece in a baseball park is but a regrettable reminder that, outside this timeless space, time continues its oppressive reign.

The timelessness of baseball, especially as played within the embrace of the old parks, reflects the timelessness of God. When God appeared to Moses at the burning bush in the wilderness, he introduced himself as "I Am"--an admittedly unconventional name. "I Am" is an expression of God's eternal, timeless nature: "I neither was nor will be, I Am." Ever, fully, present. What would it look like--if it's at all possible--to reflect the timelessness of God?

Consider how our lives are manipulated by time: the intensity of our walking pace, the weight of our foot upon the car's accelerator, even the beating of our heart. We are usually moving from somewhere to somewhere else--with something else we must do--with little patience for where we are. Because we are always on the move, most everything and everyone we encounter impede our progress, our outcomes, our personal and professional agendas.

As a result, we become impatient: impatient with ourselves; impatient with neighbor; impatient with God. Patience, I have found, is much more than a common courtesy or virtue. Patience, like the baseball park, is a rare space of sanctuary--a space we create--that offers us a respite from the insatiable demands of time. A space where we can be fully present with ourselves, our God, our neighbor--without the sense that we should be somewhere--doing something--else. A space where everything and everyone are no longer mere impositions.


How then can we create a space of patience? Consider...

First, where's the reflection or--even better--the refuge of timelessness for you? Is there a small, physical "structure" that you can keep at hand to remind you of this distinctive reflection or refuge?

Second, have you ever been around another who is patient, at peace, and fully engaged in the moment? What's that like? How does that person show up? How might your life change if you show up in the same way?

Third
, how easily do you surrender yourself to "the tyranny of the urgent"? How attached are you to your progress, your outcomes, your personal and professional agendas? How does this attachment impact your attitude and your relationships? Where is it possible to loosen your grip?

Fourth, remember that patience is among the "fruit of the spirit" (Galatians 5:22-25). What then is the assumption?

And a bonus for your contemplation...
Patience, compassion, passion: these three words share an unlikely root word. Do you know what it is? There seems to be something of a progression from patience to compassion to passion. What does it look like?

Michael Fox
m�agine!

530/613.2774
P.O. Box 9144
Auburn, CA, USA 95604
In addition to personal and professional coaching,
m�agine! specializes in spiritual transformation coaching,
employing its proprietary models: Values, Vision, Voice and Heart, Soul, Mind & Strength
.
Michael's books include Complete in Christ,
Complete in Christ Spiritual Transformation Workbook, and Biblio�files.

Coaching fees are based upon a sliding scale. Contact us for details.

Limited scholarships are available for spiritual transformation coaching.
On the flip side, if you are able, please inquire about opportunities
to fund scholarships for those who cannot afford coaching fees.

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