As stated in Preach My Gospel, "Patience is the capacity to endure delay, trouble, opposition, or suffering without becoming angry, frustrated, or anxious...You must be patient with all people, yourself included, as you work." I LOVED this video when I saw it! Since I have been a member of the Humanities Student Council, I have frequently been provided experiences through which my patience has had the opportunity to grow.
Whether in striving to accomplish a goal to benefit the college, or learning to balance the meager amount of time in life, I have been blessed as I've diligently worked to develop the heavenly virtue of patience. Interestingly, one must recognize 
that patience can only be acquired or practiced as we allow ourselves to be pushed to our outer limits or placed in certain situations in which this principle can be exercised. Seeking to "stay within our comfort zone", or to "keep other's out of our bubble" rarely afford us the opportunites to increase our abilites in this regard.
Living in a time called by Elders Neal A. Maxwell and Robert D. Hales "The Age of Entitlement", I have learned the importance of avoding the worldly expectations of 'instant solutions' and 'immediate gratification'. When setting out to fulfill our goals or complete our projects, I've found it quite healthy to simply take a step back and realize that although in my mind I see the ideal result -the end from the beginning- unforeseen obstacles are sure to arise, and I can either stew over them, or accept them, address them, and move forward.
"I am a man of fixed and unbending principles, the first of which is to be flexible at all times."
Everett Dirksen
Brady, I'm still thinking about that last quote, but the overall thrust of your WAC is very close to my thoughts on patience this semester as well. The HCSC has been a great exercise in learning adaptability and in having patience both towards people and institutions. I also liked the last reference to the Age of Entitlement. I'm still trying to diagnose that problem, which seems to become more entrenched in our youth and society every year. I don't know where to start tackling it except first in my own life. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThat was a really interesting point when you stated that patience can only develop when we are put outside of our comfort zones.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, because I'm generally patient with just about anything. But if there is one thing that tests my patience, it is losing in a competitive game (as my in-laws discovered last Christmas). If I'm the last person to run out of cards in a game of Scum, it's as if a padlocked door in my brain just swings open, and I get extremely ticked.
I suppose I can't excuse that as the one thing I'm allowed to get mad about. I have to further develop patience. Thanks for the post.
I really enjoyed the quote that you put up on your post (Thomas S Monson). I think that often times we do seek for instantaneous solutions to problems, and often become downtrodden, realizing that solutions require time to ferment. While everyone recognizes the virtue of patience I think that when tough situations arise, our patience is quite fleeting.We need to get to the point where we accept the gradual nature of achieving a solution.
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