Dictionary.com defines Patience as “quiet, steady perseverance; even-tempered care; diligence: to work with patience.”
I’ve always equated “Patience” with “Ability to wait until the time is right/better to accomplish that which you wish could be done now.”
For many years I’ve owned a 1964 Triumph Spitfire. It was red when I first bought it, before my oldest daughter was born. It was in very sad shape, the engine was in serious need of overhauling, the body was beaten, battered and scarred. Aly, my oldest, did ride in it one time, when she was about 2 days old. Having no other running vehicle at that time, her mother and I bootlegged our child up to see my parents. To my knowledge, this is the only time Aly was not in a car seat as a baby.
I digress. I’ve always had a vision of my Spitfire in my head; Red, as above, with black interior. Either denim or Naugahyde. The seats would have diagonal 3″ wide red stripes running from high outside to low inside (ie: a chevron pointing down in the center) in the center panels. The door panels would have a matching stripe on them, the rear panel was always just plain black, possibly with speakers mounted.
Bullet mirrors on the hood, as per stock. Long, deep truck airhorns mounted under the hood, hidden from sight.
Above, you can see the reality of my car from a couple of years ago vs. my idealized image. I came close to having my car as I wanted her a couple of times but always in a hurried, half-ass fashion. The last time, it nearly cost me my car, and the life of my now 2th-ex-wife in the accident that sidelined my Spitfire in 1994.
So, she’s sat, in various places and times. Waiting. Whispering in the dark corners of my mind that her time will be.
Her time is coming now, as I went out to California and helped my brother do all the bodywork that was required to get her into shape for paint, then I brought her home. She’s out in the backyard, still waiting, but much closer now. Now, I have a place to keep her and work on her. Now, there’s money to do the job right the first time, rather than half-ass-and-do-it-again-later.
Patience is something you either have now, or you’ll get it later. And while I’m not as patient as I’d like to be, I have learned.
Some young people in my life have hit upon a snag in theirs; they’re now miserable because of actions taken in (in my humble-but-experienced opinion) haste.
Just hang tight for a bit, you 2. Things may not be 100% the way you wanted right NOW, but there’s always a way to work thru the tough bits and wind up on the other side with what you wanted THEN. Sometimes, all you can do is wait. Sometimes, you can take a small bit of action in preparation for the time when you’ll be running full steam at your target with nothing else to stop you.
Sometimes, all you get to do is luxuriate in the pleasure of your thoughts about what/who it is you’re after.
Trust me on this, after 20 years of waiting for my dream to finally come true, it’ll be worth it. And if you truly want it, you will find a way. But be patient, be methodical, and above all, never lose sight of the goal.
that is so sweet