SIDDHARTHA is a story by the German author Hermann Hesse. It is all about the spiritual journey of self-discovery by a young man, Siddhartha. In one of the conversations, Siddhartha was asked what his talents were. He replied with I can listen, I can fast and I can wait. And now for the third.
In a supermarket stood a man watching a mother and her young child. There was a long line to the counter and the child was getting restless. The mother suddenly said, “Patience Martha, the line is not that long.” A few moments later the child became restive once more and the mother once more said, “Take it easy Martha, we are next in line.” Finally, the mother and the child exited the counter and the man said, “Madam I admire your patience with Martha.” The woman turned around saying, “Oh, thank you but that is Jennifer my daughter, I am Martha.”
Funny but oh so true. We demand patience from others but we are so impatient with ourselves. Lord, give me patience and give it to me now syndrome. Most people would say that in today’s society people have become impatient because of the instant culture we have. Instant food, gratification, entertainment. Anything and everything can be had in a flash. When we want or demand something we can have it almost instantly.
We want it quick and when it is denied, well we instantly get irritated or mad. But this impatience has been here for as long as man has been. Perhaps, now it is more pronounced because of the culture we are in. Make haste slowly has is an old saying. We have always been impatient, more so now. And the target of our impatience has always been the other person and never us. We get stuck in traffic and we rant against the other fellow. Road rage is common. When we are in a restaurant and our orders take some time we get mad at the server. It is always the other person’s fault and never ours. This pandemic is a classic example of make haste slowly. Look at Manila now. And whose fault is that? It may be a combination of factors but ultimately we are to blame. And we mean everyone. The faster we open, the faster we close. That is true for a pandemic, for any relationship, for a business, a career, a job, a dream. Simply put, everything will happen in its own time. Nature has mastered that.
Cocoon to butterfly, seed to harvest, low tide to high tide, quarter moon to full moon. And none of those events can be rushed or hurried. It happens in its time. Because the real definition of patience is not waiting.
Patience is timing.