The Art of Patience
While we were out with a friend, shopping for new clothes for Leslie the other day, Sean overheard the employees in the store talking. One of the employees was talking about how she didn’t like to wait, she disliked lines because it took too long, and that she ALWAYS used Amazon Prime for next day shipping because she wanted her things to arrive “a week ago”. I have noticed recently that this is a new “trend”. Many people, especially the younger generations, don’t have patience and they want things NOW rather than waiting a few days. They will pay whatever it costs in order to get something almost immediately, rather than save their money and have to wait a few extra days.
The problem with this trend is that they are not learning the “art of patience”. This is a very important skill that is not being taught today. I especially see it in young kids (mine included sometimes). Kids see their parents getting angry at having to wait for something, so they are not learning how to be patient. They expect things to be handed to them on a silver platter and it has to be NOW, not in an hour and definitely not in a week. They are missing out on something, however, by not learning how to be patient and wait.
What are they missing out on, you ask? They are missing out on a skill that is needed in observation. To be patient means having to wait for something to happen. So many people today get angry or frustrated if they have to wait and in doing so, they are missing out on an amazing opportunity to learn how to observe their surroundings. The power of patience and observation is so important to life in general. Not everything can be immediate, it’s just not possible. I also think that not waiting for something takes some of the joy out of life.
If you are expecting a package, don’t you think it’s exciting to wait for it. You know something is coming, but you don’t know when it will get there. To me the wait is as exciting as actually receiving the item. I also think that the wait is important because it adds value to the item. You learn to appreciate it all the more, because you had to wait for it, rather than getting it instantly.
In a world of go go go, hurry, hurry hurry, an opportunity to wait should be an enjoyable experience. You can take a moment of time to breathe, and relax. Instead though, everyone gets impatient and frustrated, even sometimes angry, just because something isn’t instantaneous. Next time you make a purchase online, don’t choose next day shipping, choose standard shipping and see how you feel waiting for the item to arrive. There is a certain expectation and excitement that comes in waiting. Next time you are standing in line, rather than trying to look for a shorter line or complaining that it’s taking too long, take a moment to breathe, relax and observe your surroundings. Standing in line is a great time to people watch. You can learn a lot about others (and yourself) through observation. If there is someone older in line behind you, talk to them. Older people can have amazing stories to tell, and waiting in line is a great time to hear one of those stories. You may even make a new friend.
Ask any scientist, hunter or photographer about patience. If you are doing a science experiment, you have to wait for the results. If you rush things, the experiment could be useless. Say you are sick and need a medication. Do you want something that has just been put on the market without having been researched, studied over time and results carefully and thoughtfully recorded. What would happen without the time taken to study the medication? There could be unexpected (and possibly very deadly) side effects.
How about hunting. If you don’t wait until the right moment, not only will you not get your “prize”, but you could scare off any other unsuspecting possibilities as well. If you are fishing, do the fish bite immediately after, you put the bait in the water? Of course not. You have to wait while they inspect and make a determination on this yummy looking morsel. The fish wait to see what it could be, making the fisherman wait as well. If you pull the rod back too soon, you will not make the catch. It will swim off, looking for other options. It will become someone else’s lunch.
What about getting the perfect picture. Any good photographer will tell you that the picture took time to get. It wasn’t instantaneous and it may have even taken multiple attempts to get the perfect picture. These are only a few example of why it’s important to learn how to be patient. There are many others as well.
As bloggers, and writers, patience is important too. If you throw a post or story together without thinking it through, going through the steps of planning, prewriting, thinking about what you have, editing, revising, rereading and sometimes allowing time then going back to reread it before posting, or printing your story, what would happen? The story or post could be disjointed, misspelled, have bad grammar, or make no sense to others. Would a story like this get many readers? How about a post like this? Would a publisher look at a story like this and decide to publish it? Of course not. They would loose out on money because they wouldn’t get any readers. Once again, patience is needed in order to be successful.
I will be forever grateful to my grandparents for teaching me the “art of patience”. Try it out for yourself. It could make all the difference to your life.
I completely agree! A very well written post! We all really do need to slow down, be more patient & be more present! Thank you so much for sharing this!
Thank you for the comment Kari. It makes life more enjoyable when we are patient, causes less stress and frustrations
In some instances I actually find that younger generations are more patient – usually with other people.
Older folks always seem to be the ones getting mad when something isn’t perfect, pulling that “I need to speak to your manager” scare tactic, or refusing to tip when service at a restaurant is slow or backed up. Younger folks, I’ve noticed tend to let a lot of these little things go – it’s cool that it’ll be another ten minutes for the appetizer, no worries! Or, it’s okay that the cash register is messing up and you need to wait for a CSM to fix it, let’s chat for a minute! Or, “Oh, I asked for a soy latte, not almond – can you fix it when you have a moment? Thanks so much!”
When it comes to technology and delivery services – yes we expect quick results. That’s literally what those services and companies are claiming to be able to provide. And if we don’t have to sit around and wait for that package to arrive, we can put it to quicker use and spend that time with something that truly matters.
Waiting actually makes me anxious.
An interesting view on it. I’ve seen some elderly get frustrated when something doesn’t go their way, but in general, I don’t see them throwing the fits at the cash registers at the grocery, or department stores that I see from the younger generations and they aren’t the ones I see with major road rage issues when in traffic. Even my kids will start going off on cars that are “going to slow” until I remind them that I rarely exceed the speed limit myself. They will even yell at the stop lights and the cars that don’t instantly move when the light changes. I’m constantly stressing that even though a light is green, doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s safe to go, because a lot of people will run the red lights. I have to remind my husband of the same thing actually.
Thanks for your thoughts.
This is such a great post! Very eye opening to how life has changed! Thank you for sharing
Thank you for your comments. I’m glad it was eye opening for you. We all need to remember how important patience is in our lives! Have a blessed day!
You are so right! We’re a culture of instant gratification. Everyone is in a rush and no one has time for depth and introspection. Patience is truly becoming a lost art. Thank you for reminding us of its importance.
You are most welcome! It’s important that we remember the importance of patience and teach it to our kids, otherwise it really will be a lost art!
I really liked this post! I was never a patient person, it doesn’t really run on neither side of my family, so the fact that I learned how to be patient with both everyday things and life in general, basically shocks everyone!
For me, since I was born with a physical disability, I have always loved to learn new things since I was very young, so I learned pretty quickly that nothing is going to come to me right away. I wish I could say that’s how this all got started, but it’s not! I used to spent a lot of my time with my family and like with all families, they would get on my nerves and somehow that was the right encouragement I needed to learn how to control my patience. However, when I’m asked how long it took for me to get like this, I can’t exactly answer it because I have no idea! Lol
I hope you don’t mind, but I want to talk about this for a series I might do next year. If I have your permission, could I use this in the actual post? Of course, I’ll give you credit for it 🙂
Thanks. Sure you can use it, just make sure you link back to me as well. And when you do, let me know and I’ll link to you as well, that way we are helping each other out! I had a lot more patience when I was younger than what I do now. I’m working on that though. I shouldn’t get angry at things that are beyond my control.
You addresed a highly significant issue in today’s day and age. Patience is slowly becoming a rare commodity. Well written.
Thank you! I agree it is becoming a rare commodity. I think a lot of that has to do with technology, as things get faster and faster, patience levels become less and less. I always joke, that today’s kids wouldn’t know what to do if they had dial-up internet like I had growing up. Having to wait to get on the internet, having to wait for pages to load, ect, would drive them crazy. Even then, I can remember getting frustrated when I finally got online, and then the link was dropped due to an incoming phone call or just a bad connection. But I had been taught by my grandparents that you can’t always have things instantly and so didn’t get angry over it. I’m not sure even I could handle waiting for dial-up these days. We have gotten so used to nearly instant internet. I have a neighbor who make the claim that her kids “couldn’t wait for 3 days” for our internet to be fixed when it went out a couple months ago and she called the internet company back to get them out there that day. Just another example of no patience.
Patience is very important, and its truly an art to be practiced. We are getting to the point where we are losing our patience expecting quick results. You see it all the time, get rich quick, fast and easy, to the point that we would pay our patience away and give up hope. Great Point!
Thanks! And yes, I see it every time I go out as I watch how people drive and how they act when standing in lines. The comment that my husband overheard is just another example of it. Her I want it “a week ago” says it all.
i couldnt agree with you more, i see the difference in patience between me and my brother and you can truly see how the value of this virtue is disappearing! Great post!!
Thanks! I see it every day when I’m out in public. People rushing around and getting angry about slow lines or people, honking at people on the roads as they speed past…I’m trying my hardest to teach my kids how to be patient.
Patience is a virtue that I meditate to gain within my mind, body, and soul. I love reading blog posts on these topics. Good read!
Ann Marie Ruby | https://annmarieruby.com/
Thanks! There are times when I’m in a hurry and struggle with patience as well, but for the most part I’m a very patient person, and I love any chance I can get to relax from the rush of the world and just watch others, or talk to people who may have a good story or two from their own youth. You can learn a lot, just by watching and listening to others, but you are only going to get there if you have the patience to wait.
I completely agree! Patience is not something that this younger generation has at all. We are trying to teach our son patience but he will ask every 2 sec “is it ready yet?” “Can I have it now?” “Are you done yet?” We make him wait all the time because getting dinner ready or fixing a toy or doing anything takes time. Hopefully others are doing the same and we will all get through this! Great post!
Thanks! We do the same with our kids. They are learning how to wait for things. However, sometimes they still want things immediately and we have to remind them to wait! It’s a work in progress, but at least we are trying to do the best for them. My youngest daughter who is 8 actually has the most patience out of all the kids.
Patience is definitely a dying trait, I can forgive it in kids for the most part as i didn’t have it when i was young either but it’s a skill that we need as adults for sure. Though I am guilty about using amazon prime for quick shipping too haha
I can’t say that I have never used next day shipping when it’s available for free, but I don’t pay extra for it. I enjoy the excitement of waiting for something.
Lovely post
Thanks! It felt like the right time to post it.