The basic understanding of patience is having the ability to wait for some sort of pay off.
When there’s a line at the Walmart self-check-out because the customer bags the groceries now.
That’s patience.
When you’re driving behind two trucks with 48,000# of freight in each lane and you have somewhere to be.
That’s patience.
Your dog watching you eat Thanksgiving dinner.
That’s patience.
We’ve all had experiences where our patience is tested, but have you looked up the definition lately?
Let’s have a look:
Patience - the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.
In logistics, capacity refers to the amount of space you have in a warehouse, on a truck, or in your carrier network. Having capacity means you have the ability to do the job.
Growing acceptance and tolerance means thinking beyond ourselves and realizing “they” are just “us”, despite our differences. With a wider lens, we can find the space to choose another perspective.
When we lack patience, our emotions about the circumstances supersede the opportunity to practice patience.
The only thing different between a “practice test” and “the test” is how much they count. Game day is when the record is kept but the game is won on the practice field.
When life asks you to be patient, how do you respond? With anger and upset? Or acceptance and tolerance?
We grumble “Why are they so short-staffed?”
…maybe nobody wants that job?
We shout at our windshield “Why won’t they just pass them??”
…did you know most trucks have speed limiters?
Our dog whines “Why won’t they just drop something on the floor???”
…maybe they are saving the last bite for the good boy?
Easier said than done, sure. But that's the thing about practice. It doesn't mean perfect. It means progress.
Chelsey and I recently picked up “The Heart of Buddha’s Teaching” by Thich Nhat Hanh.
We’re just starting to learn about Buddhism, but apparently, it has much to do with another word in the definition of patience: suffering.
Here’s a quote from the first few pages:
“Without suffering, you cannot grow. Without suffering, you cannot get the peace and joy you deserve. Please don’t run away from your suffering. Embrace it and cherish it…the Buddha called suffering a Holy Truth, because our suffering has the capacity of showing us the path to liberation”. - Thich Nhat Hanh
Suffer well. Practice patience.
Read 4. Make life a game
P.S.
Patience, n. A minor form of despair, disguised as a virtue.
Ambrose Bierce’s satirical “Devil’s Dictionary”
