Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet. – Aristotle
Xi Wang Mu is the Daoist Chinese goddess of immortality, often referred to as the Queen or Royal Mother of the West and rules over the western paradise of the immortals. Very early stories described her as a terrifying tiger-woman who brought the plague, but under the influence of Daoism she became a benign goddess. Later stories have her as the wife of the Jade Emperor.
She is said to have lived in a nine-storey palace of jade in the mythical Kun-lun mountains, near the Lake of Jewels.
It was surrounded by a wall over a thousand miles long and constructed of pure gold. In her garden she cultivated the peach of immortality. This peach tree forms only one peach every three thousand years, which then takes another three thousand years to ripen. When it is ripe, Xi Wang Mu invited the immortals to a feast to celebrate their birthday and to partake of the miraculous peach which bestows another lease of immortality.
After reading this story, it reminded me yet again, of the patience that is needed, to cultivate a rich and meaningful life. It takes time and commitment to understand who we are and to understand our soul purpose. We may compare ourselves to others and wonder why we are not striding ahead in leaps and bounds, as they may seem to be. But it takes far less time to assemble a house of cards, than it does a palace.
The greater the contribution and patience we have in this lifetime, the stronger the foundations will be for our journey ahead.
There are no short cuts in life and although we may not wait three thousand years, like Grandmother Xi Wang Mu to bear fruit, she understood long before us, that some things were worth waiting for.
LIVING IN THIS MOMENT 
So true, wise words, Karen. Love the Aristotle quote, especially.
Thank you Eliza! It’s a good story 💚
Beautiful lesson for all. Thank you
Thank you for your comments 🙏🏻
Fantastic post, Karen and words of wisdom from the one who knows what patience really is. Beautiful and a great read.
Thank you Kamal. Our journey is a lifetime of learning 💕🙏🏻
Welcome Karen and yes I so agree with you.
Patience. Patience.
Yes, over a lifetime 🌈
As we age, I think…for me anyway, I find I have grown deeply in patience in some ways and in other ways, my frustration tolerance has gotten a little worse. Haha. Maybe a lot worse. Oh well, the little things don’t matter so much, like technology. ❤
I agree and I am finding that I am a lot more patient writing my next book. I am really understanding that if I want to create beautiful fruit, I need time to lay down strong foundations. This story reminded me to be patient with that. Thank you Mary 💚
A great reminder. ❤
Yes it is. Thank you Carol 💚
Patience has fascinated me for some time, Karen! Perhaps because it was something I didn’t have often. Until I realized that it isn’t something to have or acquire. It is the opposite. It’s a letting go of how I want things to be. And taking time to pause and reflect on what is happening.
It’s simply accepting what is and adjusting to this reality, rather than holding on to my own preferences.
Patience is living with natural rthymns of life.
A wonderful reminder 🙏
Beautifully said Val. Making peace with this moment and how it arrives in its own time. 🙏🏻
Karen, I enjoyed your words here at the end –
We may compare ourselves, but when we strive to provide a solid foundation, we are looking at patience, and cultivating it, and it is cultivating us.
Thank you 💚