A reflection on time, hope, and patience
You can tell someone's contentment and level of perseverance by how often they look at their watch. Someone who has hope, and sets their life by the clock, will always be dissatisfied with the outcome, or wasted time. Because they are not in control of the outcome or when it will be, but the watch makes them think they are.
Lessons from prisoners of war
Prisoners of war who had the hardest time were the optimists, the people with hope that they would be out by Christmas. When that time came and went, their drive, their souls where crushed, and their hope died. The people who went in as pessimists, knowing they would be tortured, not be feed well, that it would be a minimum of seven years before even considering freedom, were the ones that could persevere. Why is this?
The price we pay for a time-obsessed society
Our own misery is dictated by time and the lack of patience. Think of all the stress in one's life because of a deadline at work. Having to get it done, needing to be in by end of day Friday, when we subconsciously know the report will not be looked at until Monday evening. So why the hurry, why the rush, the pressure, the lack of patience?
We do the same for postage, a purchase, a release date. Misery comes when we start counting down the days, hours, and minutes. It's only when we forget to look at the clock that the day goes by. It's when we forget what day it is that we realize the holiday is over in a flash. This measurement that dictates our modern lives is a tool. A tool that benefits who? Surely not our souls, our spirit, our peace.
Cultivating peace in the present moment
The idea that time is everything, and time is also fleeting, and we can never get it back. But at the same time, we want it to hurry up, we want the day to finish as soon as possible? Why? What benefit does that bring but an early grave? Understand that good things do take time, to sprout, to grow and cultivate into something, nothing is instant, no matter how much we wish it so.
I believe that patience is the most valuable discipline we can cultivate. The willingness to sit, wait, or even be bored. Time is absolute, time is forever changing, and it does not wait for anyone. Nature does not hurry, yet everything gets done. When we realize that it's not the end of the world, and that right now is all that matters, we can find peace in the passage of time. We can slow it down and embrace and enjoy it.
Cultivating patience for a fulfilling life
You can tell someone's contentment and how much perseverance they have by how often they look at the clock. Be willing to wait for growth, for the achievement, to put in the reps and time now to reap the rewards later. Because the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, the second-best time is now. So why not live in the now, and understand and be at peace with the fact that things take time? It's okay; what's the rush? It will come; why put yourself in discontent for something that is inevitable anyway?
