Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – January 27, 2004
Patience & Other Good Things
Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – January 27, 2004 – I have a favourite saying about patience, or the lack thereof, coined by I know not whom:
“Patience is a virtue – Possess it if you can,
Seldom had by women – And never had by men”
I don’t know if patience is a matter of gender, but I do know that being patient is akin to having faith and that it’s one of the hardest of Life’s lessons to master. Just think about how hard it is to sit calmly in your car while the person in front of you pokes along at ten miles an hour less than the speed limit, or waits until the last minute to turn left at a red light, making it necessary for you to wait another turn.
What about a slow line-up for theatre tickets or a cashier at the grocery check-out with a little too much attitude? I slip into ‘toe-tapping’ mode so quickly that I’m hardly aware of the tension in my back until I realize that my shoulders are hugging my ears. Why is this?
We’ve become so accustomed to instant responses to everything in life that the least little bit of inconvenience makes us intolerant and uncomfortable. We have a righteous sense of entitlement, thinking that everything should always go as we plan. I smile at myself now when I catch myself playing the ‘impatiece game’.
There will be times when things happen over which I have no control. Other people will frustrate me. So what and so be it! I make an attempt when I see the impatience banner being run up the flagpole to count to ten and determine whether or not I can actually change the situation. If not, I take a deep breath, smile and realize that the frustration or delay will be over in a matter of minutes. But what if the wait takes longer?
I catch up on phone calls, have a book with me to read or a file to work on. I sit calmly and think about how much this will matter or not by the next day or the end of the week. The answer is always the same – not at all. So while being patient still isn’t one of my greatest virtues – I’m getting better. Awareness is a great gift and while “the patience of Job” is still not my rallying cry – I’m working on being a contender!
Patience and impatience are just two of the mirror opposites that we contend with in life. Every day we are a teacher or a student – some days we are both. These dichotomies are what makes life worth living. We can’t know light until we’ve experienced darkness – not an original concept but a thought worth reiterating nonetheless. All original thoughts have apparently been taken – but it’s in the repeating of them that we learn.
If we accept that we have to make decisions each day about how we behave, how we treat one another, our animals and the world – then instead of fretting about the decisions – we can focus instead on how we interact with others. It does matter how we conduct ourselves. The ‘Universe’ has a book of life, and our names will be in it, but it is totally up to us alone to decide if our names will be penned there with care, or scribbled in haphazard fashion.
Think about the possibilities. Make a game out of recognizing the duality present in each day and then become a warrior for the good guys! I personally have taken to wearing a full set of armour and a helmet at all times!
Patient & Impatient.
Light & Darkness.
Kind & Unkindness.
Good & Evil.
Generous & Stingy.
Thinking & Unthinking.
Caring & Uncaring.
Grateful & Ungrateful.
Funny & Serious.
Friendly & Aloof.
Honourable & Dishonourable.
Aware & Unaware.
Respectful & Disrespectful.
Industrious & Lazy.
Bold & Meek.
I could go on and on, but I appreciate that you have things to do with your day. Me too, I’m off to clear a much needed path on my sidewalk with my handy-dandy, new steel-edged snow shovel.
Not a task that I enjoy – hence I’m thinking, “Oh, how lovely to be outdoors on a sunny, clear day, now that the storm is over”. No one said that change was easy. Ever onward!
