In the 5 almost 6 years I’ve been in Sudan, I have never noticed the change of the seasons before. Only this year, autumn has started and I noticed the change. We get too drained and consumed by our everyday life and obligations that we hardly notice the little beautiful things around us. We hardly show our appreciation to change and the environment around us.
Patience is something I am not known for, since my childhood I was the youngest of 4 and I always got what I wanted when I wanted it. I didn’t have to wait; waiting was not a word used in my upbringing. One story I remember from my childhood reflects exactly what I mean. It happened when I was only 9 or 10 years old. My family and I had regular holidays in London, Great Britain. We had a spacious flat on Baker street where my father –may he rest in peace- thought of it back then as a good idea. We spent about 2 months living in that flat then we would return to our normal life in the UAE. In one of our holidays, my father decided to take us all to a restaurant far from where we lived, we took about 2 buses to get to our destination. And on our way, I passed by a closed toyshop that sold the Flintstones toys. The Flintstones just came out as a movie and they quickly launched toys around the same time. I noticed the toy from the window and I immediately told my father that I wanted it. He told me to wait till we can come back again when the shop is open to buy it. Although that was a confirmation that I will get what I want, it was not when I wanted it. My father merely asked me to wait which is something I was very unfamiliar with. I cried throughout that evening till the very early hours of the following morning. I was up very early and continued crying because I simply wanted that toy. My mum started becoming more irritated by my annoying cries to the extent that she got dressed, got me dressed while still in tears and we started our journey towards the toyshop. When we got there, the shop was open and my little heart was filled with an overwhelming joy. I stood in front of the toy for what seemed back then like hours, contemplating the display and admiring the toy. My mum then asked me to choose out of the 4 options of the same toy. I started tearing up again, as it seemed like the perfect thing I have ever seen in my life and I told her I want to get all 4 of them. To keep me from crying in public, she took all 4 of the toys and went to the counter to pay for them. At that moment, I felt like the happiest little human being on earth. I got what I wanted, although not exactly when I wanted it, I owned 4 of the most beautiful things I have ever come across.
Although back then I have learnt nothing from that incident except that my parents used to always give in to all my desires, looking back at the situation I learnt the most valuable lesson of my entire life. When you wait long enough, you will end up getting what you really desire and sometimes more. We all need to learn how to be patient. Patience, as it has always been praised, is a virtue.
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If you look up the meaning of patience, you will find that it is the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. From my personal experience waiting is not my favorite part of my day nor my life, I get irritated extremely easily and I quickly run out of patience. I am a difficult person when it comes to waiting and I am sure that a lot of you have been or already are in my position. We are what I like to call a generation of speed-junkies; we grow to become accustomed to faster life styles, faster news, faster cars, faster connections, faster communication… etc. We have not grown to watch a plant grow, nor to enjoy the sunset. We are not groomed to understand why some things are time consuming and we have not been disciplined to enjoy the wait. But the fact is that some things might take longer than we expected. We need to start accepting the fact that everything, whether it is the perfect job, the perfect man or woman, the perfect relationship, the perfect life might all take time to accomplish. It might also take time to come your way.
The two disciplines of patience, in my opinion, are: first, you have to learn to not be irritated by the waiting period. Don’t let it get to you and don’t think of the reasons why it is taking long to come your way nor why someone else is getting what they want and not you. It is energy consuming when you focus all your attention on what is not happening, look around you and enjoy what you have at this very moment; this will keep you content until what you’re waiting for starts to happen. The second discipline is that you have to have full faith in that you will get what you want. You have to believe that all your dreams and goals will come true as much as you believe that the sun will rise in the morning. Believe that dawn is coming and you have to open your eyes to witness it with an open
heart. Jose Gonzalez has a beautiful song titled “Stay Alive” where he says that dawn is coming, open your eyes. Fully believe in your dawn that is coming, but you have to be ready for it. Going back to my childhood story, I had full belief that my parents will buy me the gift and I didn’t doubt that fact one bit, however, I had no idea that I will end up getting not 1 but all 4 of the toys I wanted.
One of my friends once posted a status on her Facebook account where she mentioned that when you patiently wait for something, you should believe that it will happen as much as you believe that the sun will rise the following day, no doubts. That is my message to you; don’t doubt your dreams, or the fact that they will all come true no matter how long it takes. Be Patient and believe that you will not only get what you want but a lot more too. Patience is part of your belief so try to enjoy your wait as much as possible by counting your current blessings at all times.
Let’s Talk with Maya Gadir is a bi-monthly column about wellness, living the best life you can live and positivity. Maya is a certified Medical Herbalist with over 10 years of experience in therapeutic conversations. She has been working in media since 2013 as a presenter on Capital Radio 91.6FM.
