Be Inspired from Annette Bridges

Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. -Rainer Maria Rilke Share on X

I’ve always loved asking myself questions and have never been one to avoid them. So when I read a phrase like “try to love the questions themselves” my first reaction might be “no problem!”

The first part of this quote is another matter. “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart.” Patience has never been my greatest asset in my humble opinion and yet when does our life not demand patience of us?

Where my impatience happens is when my heart knows what I need and outside circumstances keep me from moving forward and taking action.

Yet if I have no control over a situation, there really is no other alternative than to embrace patience along with acceptance.

I guess my lesson and suggestion to myself and anyone else these days is this. Be patient with yourself always. Things in your life are not always in your control. Time may be required for solutions to be realized. There may be things that go unsolved for a season.

I am accepting that grace is needed. Give yourself patience and loving care. Be gentle and tender with your heart when it is weary and uncertain. Welcome the questions. Love them. There will be a question that leads to receiving the answer you long for.

I’m also learning to accept the idea that some answers to questions may not be what I want or wish for. These are usually the questions that involve loved ones. Sometimes I tend to make questions that really belong to others my own. Their answers may not be what I want them to be. But their journey in life is theirs – not mine. Another lesson I’m learning to accept.

I guess when talking with your heart and considering what is unsolved in your heart, we need to be sure the questions are ones that are about us and for us – not others. I think I tend to give more attention to the needs of others and confuse their needs with my own. They are not the same my friends.  Perhaps the word that needs the most pondering in this quote is YOUR.

Annette Bridges

Annette Bridges

Author, Publisher and Women's Retreat Host

Annette Bridges is an author, publisher and women’s retreat host on a mission to help every woman realize her story is extraordinary, valuable and noteworthy. Part of Annette’s own journaling practice includes collecting ideas, quotes, songs, videos and photos that inspire her. She shares some of her finds in these weekly “Be Inspired” posts to lift your spirit with encouragement, comfort and joy.

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