Time and Patience

Time is ever moving, never standing still. We rush through life as though we never have enough of it. We all have our schedules to keep. To ‘be on time’ is what we strive for. Have you ever stopped and looked around at what you were doing, where you were? Stepped back from your situation and took a time-out?

In many instances I’ve realized that in order to cope with the stress of day-to-day life you have to slow down and take a breath. Who cares if you get home a couple of minutes later from work as long as you get home safely? Have a little more patience with the world.

They say that patience is a virtue. I believe that statement is totally true, since without patience you would have a very stressful life. A stressful life sometimes leads to health problems if you don’t know how to cope with it. When times are tough slow down, take a deep breath. It should help calm you.

The reason I’m thinking this way is because on my way home from dancing one night, I hit a large dog with my two ton vehicle. I heard a yelp of pain and surprise and then felt the bump as my tire rolled over the poor thing. Luckily I was going slowly, but obviously not slow enough to stop in time. I drove on a little ways before I could turn back since my conscience would require nothing less.

When I got back to the place of the accident the animal was no longer there. I breathed a sigh of relief that it could get up and walk away. I don’t think I will ever forget that sound or feeling and I just couldn’t help thinking: what if that was a toddler instead? A toddler at that time of night was a little bit absurd, but what if? Not a pleasant thought! It’s not that I wasn’t paying attention to the road, just not paying enough attention to all aspects of the road.

I thought about how people rush through life as I made my way home and started to compose this piece in my head. People, in general, need to stop and think the situation before striking out in anger at something or someone. Take a step back from the situation and as you do take a deep breath to calm yourself. You’ll assess the situation much better by being direct and levelheaded.

Many small things we tend to take for granted. Small things that could be gone in the blink of an eye. Take time-out and enjoy the little things in life. This may include a walk in the park, having a snowball fight or building a snowman for those of us blessed with snow, or perhaps just enjoying the laughter of children playing nearby. I’m sure if you take the time out of your busy schedule to just enjoy life you’ll thank yourself for it. I know I did.