About Changes and Patience…

Today I was looking at the blog, to try and get an “mind flash” of inspiration as to what to write this morning. Usually, after looking at several segments, there is a little bit of light that comes through…

This morning, what actually came through, especially after yesterday’s log, is that perhaps the format could use a little changing, making it a bit more (to use the words of the editing group at “blog central”) dynamic. After looking at several of the offerings (remember, this is a free site; can’t bite the server that feeds the hand pecked lines…) this particular format came through as interesting. It is called the “Magazine”; it lets you scroll through the different offerings, giving you a little bit of the content, and click on any one you may want to read or explore again. It made it easier for me to look back over the now more than 170 entries (remember just a little while ago we were celebrating entry #100??) and pick and choose. Oh yes… also had to change the font, since this one is a little easier to read against white background … I hope you like it …

indeed!!

What is patience? How does one acquire it? Is it worth having? These are questions which often come to mind as issues we await, both important and trivial, take longer and longer to resolve and come to pass. According to our friends at ever present Wikipedia, this is the “technical” meaning of the word…

Patience (or forbearing) is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. Patience is the level of endurance one can take before negativity …  (personal comment … WoW!!!) 

After 65 years of accumulating “patience” I am not sure that it is all that is hyped up to be. I remember my dear grandmother, whom I consider a true candidate for sainthood and who, as I was growing up with her and my grandfather, exercised an incredible amount of this virtue with yours truly … By today’s standards, I would be confined to that group which would be put under the banner of “difficult”. On the other hand, I would rather be that way and not be a passive and bored (as well as utterly boring) individual. There were moments when I, a mere 8-10 year old, would actually feel bad about being that bad … Well …  yes, these were just quickly fading moments … But she never lost it with me and was always ready with a hug or a kind word. I am sure, after having children of my own, that sometimes when those kind words were somewhat garbled, they were being pushed through strongly clenched teeth …

Oh Yes ... first the gene pool ...
then the learned one

We are human beings; we are far from perfect (I know, this doesn’t apply to you in particular… keep reading) and even farther from being able to really understand what is it that makes us tick on a day in, day out basis. Why is it that an issue which was totally acceptable yesterday, now becomes a burr in the saddle? Just a few hours later? And the reverse is also true. Something that now is totally unthinkable may actually be a source of a chuckle a few hours from now … Why is this? Is the application of the virtue we call patience determined by other influencing circumstances? How can this be? Should it not be dependent on its own merits?

I am inclined to think that it does indeed depend on changing circumstances, and that these will definitely influence just how much patience we may have at any given point and with any given trigger. Every so often, the mention of an ongoing search on my part for the completion of an international transaction has found its way to these posts. This does not depend solely on my doings (unfortunately so); there are efforts (or lack of) involved which come from several and very different quarters. If there is an issue which has demanded an ever increasing amount of patience, this has been it. Why? Because the end result of our collective work is directly linked to others who are involved as well. And, as these others manage their affairs in a very different manner than one may, “one” has had to learn to deal with delays which seem to be due to trivial happenings. At times, after a good conversation and some indication of forward movement, there is a better inclination to accept a potential delay; at other times, after an accumulation of frustrating waits and/or lack of communication, the very same delay becomes unacceptable and creates the well known “explosion”.

It will be tried at every turn ...

 Often, after a heated exchange over a seemingly small issue, the “chewee” (know what that means, right?) usually complaints that the “chewer” (usually the boss or a decision maker) “got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning”. This is a common saying; in fact, it is so common that we repeat it without much thinking when someone with whom we talk about any given issue, reacts in a negative manner … There are so many of these expressions referring to this changing of the winds depending on the emotional state of a person, that it makes me think that patience is definitely a learned virtue and that it comes by way of a lot of practice. In fact, the virtue “Patience”, in all the main religions of the world, is considered indispensable as the “perfect” virtue, or that which will bring you closer to communion with your Heavenly Father.

After having had to acquire a good chunk of this state of mind over the years and then having lost some of it, I can say that it has its moments but that there are also times when it has to be put aside in order to light the proverbial “fire” under someone or something, and get the deed done. On a more earthly plane, a good philosopher, Frederick Nietzsche, said: “being able to wait is so hard that the greatest poets did not disdain to make the inability to wait, the theme of their poetry” …

A lifetime of learning ...

So, is it a learned virtue? Most philosophers and most religions agree that it is so … That actually learning the management of this virtue will mark one as a well enlightened individual who is able to deal with earthly matters, as well as to wait for the communion of His Lord … As a mere human being, I can attest to the fact that the learning process has not been easy, under any stretch of measure or imagining. Especially when dealing with those who do not understand or have never acquired a bit of it, always wanting immediate everything: answers, gratification, achievement, life.

What do you think? Would you consider yourself a patient individual? What would it take top make you “lose it”? (long posts don’t count!!) Does rearing children count as a full graduate level at the University of Patience? What else in your life has helped you understand this concept and put it into practice? Whatever it is, always save a drop of it within your heart and mind, for there will be many moments during which that little extra reservoir of this truly rare virtue will serve you to manage the situation and to go on with the labors of life …

Be Well … Be Back!!!

Final Notes:

• Any comments, please send to otherboxp@yahoo.com; it comes directly to me. I promise to read all coming messages, and answer as many as I can.
• Pray for those who are fighting an illness which may take them away from their loved ones… Every request is heard, and counts!!
• Remember that as off 10/16 at 6:30pm EST, we’ll be “On Air” for a 30 minute period and will be, hopefully, able to continue it every week-end. The link will be posted here and on Facebook. Come Join US!!!