“Patience is not passive; on the contrary, it is active; it is concentrated strength” – Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton
Given the rapid rate technology evolves in delivering speed and the high demand and premium placed on acquisition, more and more individuals are growing impatient. Patience with oneself, others, and external events is essential in maintaining equanimity. Without patience one judges oneself irrationally based on unfair expectations, anger, distrust, and social labeling of “otherness” towards others ensues, and we lose our capacity to understand and think through events happening in our external. Practicing patience is critical in learning how to manage and understand oneself, others, and external events. Patience assists in managing through difficult situations, because it manifests compassion toward humanity by replacing negative and irrational emotions with positive and rational thoughts. Through patience one is able to realize what, why, and how we place unsolicited expectations upon persons and events. As diverse as we all are and the debates and discussions surrounding moral relativism, learning to cultivate patience enables peace towards ourselves and others. With patience we are armed to withstand any perceived challenge.
Patience serves as mental fitness exercise, because it allows for organized thought and concentration as well as tolerance. Patience reduces stress. Impatience leads to anger, frustration, and loss of clarity. Impatience can cause irrational action and thoughts fueled by emotion. Patience helps in accepting what is without holding judgment, which allows for one’s character and virtue to remain intact and unperturbed. With patience one is better able to understand that time and change are constant. Everyone and everything is in constant flux, which is one reason why the art of stillness and representation is an interesting subject, arguably. With respect to time patience serves the practitioner by teaching that everything shall pass whether an experience is good or bad. Once patience is combined with understanding one is able to see a good event will come to an end, while experiencing the event. Thus, the individual is endowed with heightened sensitivity to enjoy the experience even more. Then with respect to bad experiences, patience assists in knowing that time does not stop; therefore, the bad experience shall pass eventually.
Developing patience allows an individual to stay in control of their mood and attitude, which makes for sustaining a positive and happy outlook on living.
//E.G.//
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