“Without patience, we will learn less in life. We will see less. We will feel less. We will hear less. Ironically, rush and more usually mean less.”
This quote is by Mother Teresa. I’m sure that during her many years of providing care to people suffering from poverty, end-of-life illness, and other serious difficulties, it was essential for her to have patience. She helped with providing care personally and also through the Missionaries of Charity which she founded. Missionaries of Charity programs are now located in many counties and assist a great many women, men, and children. Her words speak from her life experience and point out how we can gain by being patient.
We live in a fast-paced world. There is emphasis on accomplishing a lot, on competition with other people or entities, on not “missing out” on popular events, and so on. That fast-paced way of living often leads to our feeling impatient, at times with ourselves and at times with other people. Sometimes our impatience is even directed toward people who aren’t the cause of whatever is underlying it.
Although at times I need to remind myself to be patient, I hadn’t thought about how being impatient limits our experiences until I came across Mother Teresa’s words. As she says, being impatient decreases our learning, seeing, feeling, and hearing. Are we seeing the expression on someone’s face that might help us understand how they are feeling? Are we being empathic when someone is having difficulty completing something by the deadline? Are we listening carefully to someone’s explanation of delays that were not in their control?
When we’re impatient we also tend not to notice that which is positive around us, such as appreciating the helpfulness of others, seeing the beauty of the sky when we’re walking somewhere, hearing people’s greetings, joining in with others who are acknowledging a coworker doing excellent work. When we’re so focused on whatever it is we’re impatient about, we miss out on the many positive things that are happening.
I plan to keep Mother Teresa’s words in mind to help me to experience more that is positive. I encourage others to keep her words in mind too.