Sunday, July 9, 2017

the lesson of time

 Aging is a matter of developing patience. The ironic reality in that statement is that by the time you learn true patience, your time is up. Fortunately I am still just a bit impatient. There is still much I want to accomplish. The frustration comes from wanting to teach others what I have learned along the way. When they just don't get it, I grow impatient. I expect it is the same frustration a teacher or a coach must feel. You keep telling them over and over and yet they just don't catch onto whatever it is. I also expect that is why man invented writing. Here it is , in writing ! If you can't remember it, at least you can read it ! Now we can't even develop enough patience to read the book, we just google it.
 Patience is easily confused with resignation. To resign is to quit trying, patience is waiting for a result. Patience can feel like resignation and that can, in turn, cause anxiety. Some say I am a cranky old man or being contrary, the truth is, I'm impatient. When will others learn what I already know ? Isn't that the way we all feel at times ? There are certain truths that are unshakable to each of us. Lately we have been calling those unshakable beliefs prejudicial, closed minded and bigoted. Should I refuse to change my belief to suit yours, that has become the result. The fact of the matter is it has always been that way among people, it is the stuff wars are made of. That is when our patience has run out !
 Patience is mistakenly associated with inaction. Whereas patience is waiting for a result that doesn't mean you quit trying. Patience is doing the same thing over and over again until the lesson is learned or taught. Impatience stems from inaction. You may become impatient with yourself or another. When all patience has been exhausted the result is almost always less than desirable. You just can't be in a hurry. That is the lesson of time. When Einstein said " insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results " he was talking about patience. Doing the same thing over and over again will give you the same result. You will learn that lesson !
 Aging is developing patience. The patience to learn about yourself is the most difficult. You have to be consistent in your actions, doing the same thing over and over, until the lesson is learned. Each lesson learned is a building block. You can't go back and change the foundation after the walls have been erected. What you can do is examine that foundation, see where any flaws may be. From that point on build only upon the " good. " Takes a good bit of patience to do that. Thing is, you got time, you'll learn. True patience requires no expectation of seeing the results, just knowing the result will be positive. And that is frustrating. Life is all about expectations. Once you learn to be truly patient, it's over.

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