The Many Virtues of Patience.

In a world of instant gratification, how on earth do we impart the virtues of patience into our daily lives?  How do we break the constant ADD we experience with all of our handheld devices?  Our blackberrys, iphones, droids and of couse, ipads?  I was recently reminded that having patience is in fact a virtue by the following statement, which really made me look at it from an entirely different perspective:   if there were never people to annoy you, to cut you down, who could you ever thank for imparting your wisdom of tolerability?  How would you ever be able to tolerate anyone or anything?  Were it not for your enemy, who keeps you in the proverbial "check". And then it dawned on me, so true.  They really have a point there.

I mean, if it weren't for your annoying roomate or coworker, who chews really loudly with his mouth open, or your incessantly nagging spouse, who would push your limits of tolerance?  And how not-cut-out-for-new york-would you be then? I mean, lets face it.  New York is a trying place.  You can't tell me that you love the stampedes of people just dying to run you over at Grand Central every morning.  However, you probably have figured out a way to deal with it, at least in your own mind.  And that goes for just about everything else too. So instead of denoucing Grand Central, as I am so apt to do, as a crazy cesspool of insanity, maybe you should thank it, because in some weird way, it has instilled more patience into you.  And for that, we thank it.  And every other annoyance in our lives as well.

I know that I'm going to personally thank every single person who runs into me, steps on my feet, and bashes into me with a force never to be wished upon our worst enemies or otherwise like encounter that throws me off kilter.    Because, it is helping us all, myself included, to have a little patience for our fellow man.  

And so is Axl Rose and GNR, with the following song.  "Cause all we need is just a little patience..."