The Effect Of Modern Culture
In today’s ever-growing and ever-evolving society where high-tech gadgets and super fast delivery systems are enhancing the quality of our life, it is hard to practice patience, because everything is teaching us the exact opposite.
You order clothes from Amazon and you’ll likely receive it in record time.
Food delivery chains are at the top of their game with extremely fast and effective systems in place that, due to their competitive nature, keep upping their game (much to the customers’ delight).
There’s a lot of hard work taking place all over the world’s factories that are aiming to make the difficult situations as stress-free as possible, and their service is constantly improving because nobody can afford to be an impatient person anymore.
Why? Because our culture has learned to expect results within minutes of our demands.
Human beings have forgotten that the key to everything is in fact patience and that happy life isn’t achieved by getting everything when they request it.
Life lessons cannot be learned unless people let go of their lack of patience and slow their roll.
Patience is one of the most important traits a person can possess and I’m going to share with you why I strongly stand by this.
Here’s Why Impatience Is Dangerous
Imagine this scenario. You’re sitting in a traffic jam, with hundreds of cars surrounding you.
Everyone is currently immobile and impatiently bashing their horns in order to get others to move, but it only makes people more frustrated.
So what do you do as you’re impatiently waiting for the traffic to clear out? You take out your little gadget and immediately Google stuff and check your social media accounts to see if perhaps you’ve got some new comments.
You might even tweet something to your co-workers or high school friends as you just can’t bring yourself to sit there with your hands tied for five whole minutes and not do something on your mobile phone.
And if you don’t get an instant reply or a desired “like” on something you tweeted, you get irrationally annoyed and frustrated because how dare they?
You know most of them are online.
So why wouldn’t they react and boost your ego by sharing that funny tweet you so cleverly thought of?
Why wouldn’t that person text you right back and therefore show you how important you are to them?
But think about this. What does that say about you and us as a people?
What kind of message does it send to our children?
Will it ultimately make them better people or set them up for failure?
If you don’t get instant results on something you crave, consider yourself a failure?
Always make sure you’re doing something instead of just enjoying the beautiful moment you’re in?
This is setting a dangerous precedent to your future offspring.
It shows them that the beauty around them is irrelevant and unworthy of appreciation.
It shows them that being in touch with everyone at all times trumps being present in your life and taking care of what’s in front of you.
It teaches them to test the Lord’s patience.
And for what? A short-term gratification because somebody blessed their social media feed with a saucy comment?
A moment of happiness because your order arrived impossibly fast?
That is a lot of evasive, short-term joy that is pulling you away from the right direction.
The one that teaches you to enjoy the little things and stop expecting things to happen at the snap of your finger.
Patience Is The Way To Go
Here’s my two cents. During my many years on this earth, I’ve been known to have a severe lack of patience for most of my life.
At times, I believe it made me a difficult person to be around (which was never my intention).
I believed in all those get-rich-quick schemes that clearly didn’t work.
I expected things to just come to me without giving much in return.
I tested my parents’ patience on more than one occasion and if I didn’t get my way, I’d throw a fit.
See, I believed in the power of “now.”
Why would I have to waste my precious time waiting for something if I could get it in a much faster manner?
Why would I believe my parents when they said if I always got what I wanted, I’d never learn the importance of hard work and sacrifice?
But boy were they right. I have learned a thing or two since my early youth.
I have replaced my incessant wants and needs with patience and gratitude.
I no longer go the fast route. I take my time. I enjoy what’s in front of me.
If I get stuck in a traffic jam, instead of looking down on my phone, I observe the nature around me.
I smile at the dog in the back seat of the car next to me.
I put on some music and jam on my own while people around me watch, probably thinking I’ve gone mad.
But you know what? I don’t really care. I don’t need that instant gratification anymore.
I don’t crave everything in the palm of my hand.
Now what I want more than anything is to have children one day who will be brought up appreciative of what they have.
Children who will know the significance of hard work and effort.
I don’t want to live in a world where people are nervous and go crazy at each other for the most insanely ridiculous reasons.
Do you know what I tell myself now, when I’m in a situation that would normally drive me mad?
I repeat to myself: if you’re stuck here waiting for the traffic to clear out in order to get to work, so is everybody else!
If your photo didn’t get a hundred “likes” within an hour, so what?
Do I really care about all these virtual people’s opinions?
No!
If I didn’t have time to make dinner at 7 pm sharp, does it really matter?
It honestly doesn’t. We can eat just as well at 8.
Live in the moment. Observe life around you.
Don’t let good things pass you by while you’re impatiently expecting things to arrive to you.
Once you shift your focus away from your constant wants and needs, you’ll finally realize that the moment you’re in right now is what life is all about!
