Impatience

Impatience is one of the man’s great faults, and it is responsible for much suffering. People who live in the country, close to nature, do not suffer as much from it as city dwellers rushing to fulfill their mistaken desires for better, but otherwise empty lives. In other words, to buy time. It is essentially an ego problem, although this may not be readily understandable to the impatient. It is in traffic that the drivers suffer most from impatience, making driving a very dangerous undertaking. Impatience also makes being alone a definite trial, though it should be the other way around. Peace and quiet, true stillness, can be rewarding, giving one a chance to look within.

I was raised in New York City, the standard by which we judge impatience (along with Tokyo and a few other over-sized cities). Automobile horns were made for the impatient.

How many can sit at home and look out the window? My friend from India, Sri Dadubhai, tells me he spends a good deal of time staring into the distance, thus performing meditation without knowing it.

Watch car drivers stopped by a red light as they twitch and squirm, eager to be off on a race to nowhere. Is the reader one of these people? If so, he or she is a menace, sometimes a nail biter. Contemplate why we are in a rush and so often late for appointments. The time barrier is one of the great mysteries.

Asked to look within and to understand ourselves, we find it too difficult and time-consuming – thus painful.

Impatience can be understood, thus avoiding accidents. Both T’ai Chi Chih and meditation can help.