“Patience is a virtue.”
I heard that for the first time when I was in third grade. My teacher must have said that to our class 100 times over the course of the school year. I’m sure a classroom of 20+ nine-year-olds was not an environment that screamed “patient,” so I appreciate her taking the time to teach us that life lesson. I knew what patience meant, or at least behaviors that were synonymous with being patient at that age, but I had never heard the word virtue before.
I remember sitting there being like, “Okay, I hear you teacher, but I don’t know what virtue means.” I sat there quietly, memorizing the words she repeated, but not really knowing what she meant.
I brought the dilemma to my mom. “Mom, what is a virtue?” Being a retired schoolteacher, I am sure she described it in a way that my nine-year-old brain could perfectly absorb. I finally understood what my teacher was saying.
As an adult now, I wonder if my teacher had taken a few moments to explain what a virtue was, maybe she could have saved herself a few “patience is a virtue” mantras.
Patience is not a virtue that comes naturally to me at all. I am a fast-paced person. I also want to know the answer to a question or the outcome of a problem, preferably yesterday.
It’s something I work on constantly. I’ve noticed that sometimes my inability to be patient with an event, goal or person is why I am disappointed. It isn’t their actions or the outcome of a situation, it’s simply because I jumped ahead to a conclusion that wasn’t even possible to begin with.
They say that the universe (or God, if you are a person of faith) will present you with lessons until you learn them. This business has been the most tangible lesson in patience yet. I wasn’t going to see all the fruit of all my labor the day I launched. I still don’t see it all. And that’s okay– actually that’s best. I am not interested in having The Good Word, Co peak before we’ve been in business for a full year. I am building something sustainable, and long-lasting.
Do not confuse patience with complacency. If I can tell you anything, it’s that practicing patience is oftentimes a lot of work.
Rome was not built in a day, but 2,000 years later, it’s still standing.
An affirmation to try: I will be patient with myself, others in my life and situations that I am waiting to unfold. I understand that patience is a choice.