Book of Qualities-Patience
Patience is kind, and it would be easy to think she is matronly, but not the way you would think. Patience is frequently agitated. She is agitated by a too-cold wind on her cheek and by the person behind her on the bus who is smacking their gum. Patience hates slow walkers and miscommunication. She is irate when people do not do the things they said they would. Patience feels all these things, yet she walks with an air of calm. Patience feels all these things, and she mulls them over in her head. Over….and over….and then not again. She lets them walk through her mind, and then float away without leaving a footprint. She sees the guy at the front of the line at the bank, yelling at the teller over something this poor girl clearly has no control over, and she is unbothered by his rage. She understands the man’s frustration. He had been waiting in an awfully long line, and being told no, especially after being in this line of angry customers, is so horribly frustrating. She understands his rage, but she does not rage with him or at him. She knows that it does not concern her, and people are people. They do not rage and make a long line longer for the fun of it. They also experience the frustration of a no, or the betrayal of a friend who does not make good on their promises, or the stupidity of not being clear when you converse, or the anxiety brewed from being behind slow walkers, or the disgust of the gum chewing, or the discomfort of the wind. And yet, the wind just blows, and the bus is dull without a piece of gum to chew on, slow walkers are enjoying their journey, and we are all doing our best to find the right words when there are so many to choose from.
Author: katie
Posted On: 2025-12-04