Patience and Cranberries

By Michael Avery

I was reminded in a recent contemplation to be more patient with Oi. Since English is her second language, I would need to give her more time to get her thoughts down on paper. My Inner Guide suggested, “Teach, don’t preach.”

At a local market later that day, I purchased a few groceries including some juice-sweetened cranberries for Oi. As we were unpacking the bags, she asked if I had noticed the company name on the cranberry package. I glanced down and smiled as I read it: “Patience Fruit & Company.”

We both recognized this as a Highlighted Waking Dream. That evening, I gave it considerable thought and smiled to myself when Oi asked if I had arrived at any further realizations. Since the cranberries were for her, I reasoned, then the message about patience must also have been for her. It was a noteworthy insight, but I decided to keep it to myself.

Oi and I saw another timely message that same week while following a bus fueled by compressed natural gas (CNG). I’d been feeling anxious about an ongoing computer issue, which was exacerbated by several ineffective calls with overseas technicians. My patience was stretched to the limit.

Often plumes of dark diesel smoke billow out from the exhaust when a bus accelerates from a stop. Alternatively, this bus in front of us was powered by clean energy. A sign on the back proudly invited those following behind it to relax; there would be no harmful or noxious fumes coming from the bus. In large bold letters it read: BREATHE.

A third message came from our own kitchen. The almond bread recipe Oi had been using called for a small amount of honey as a sweetener. When my patience started to wane, she made a slight change to the recipe. As a result, the loaf turned out a little too sweet.

Oi smiled at me from the kitchen. “I decided to add some extra honey,” she informed me. “I thought your bread needed to be a little sweeter.” We both started laughing when we realized what the waking dream was indicating. I needed to be a little sweeter to Oi when we were working on the book. My recipe for “a happy wife” calls for three simple ingredients: Patience, sweetness, and a breath of fresh air.

From Seven Signs from the Universe, pp. 203-204, by Michael and Pichaya Avery