Sabbatical Day 135 (9.21.16) - Santosha - Contentment

I've never been a patient person. I've always wanted results ASAP and would get easily frustrated. I am not saying that I've overcome my impatience. That definitely will not go away ASAP. However, one of the things I've learned from yoga training is that being aware is the key to slowly obtaining results.

By being aware I don't mean that I just acknowledge I'm impatient. By being aware I mean that each time I see myself growing impatient and frustrated, I acknowledge those feelings and think about what it is exactly that is making me feel that way. I think reflecting on those feelings and thinking about the situation prior to those feelings will help me slowly grow less impatient.

I have used this awareness to help me as I'm learning Korean. As I've said before, learning Korean is a hard process. I've been here for 3 months now and I've only recently felt comfortable with going out by myself. I found that when I went around with James, I was never that uncomfortable because he would always translate for me. But when I went out by myself, I would get so frustrated because I couldn't understand anything. So I did the natural thing and tried to avoid it.

But then I learned to be more aware and realized that I was the reason I was frustrated. I was frustrated at myself! I realized that of course I couldn't understand anything! I have barely been in Korea for a few months and I shouldn't expect that I would understand everything. I basically was making myself feel bad because I thought I was good at languages and should be picking it up faster.

Instead, I should practice contentment which translated to feeling happy that I could understand a word or two. And seeing that I could increasingly understand more. This really helped diminish some of my fear. I've been going to places and actually speaking in Korean.

Again, not saying all my fear is eliminated (for example, today I opted to go to a buffet for lunch instead of a place where I actually needed to place my order) but I think I've taken a step in the right direction.