When I think about cultivating patience, I think about children. When others think about patience, they think of standing in a waiting line at the DMV. I think of children. It takes great patience to teach children and great compassion and humility to learn from them.  I can’t yet visualize myself as a father but I can imagine the pride I would take as a father and how it would fuel my devotion and drive to teach what I have learned with patience and humility.

The personal pride of self control required to allow a person time to think, speak and discover things for themselves, guiding where you can and saving them where you must. Doing this without letting frustration get the better of me, I would find it challenging, anything worth doing has it’s challenges.

As I step forward into life I look to the horizon and must build a foundation for a family. When I think about patience, I think about working 2 extra jobs to sock away money for a little rug-rat or down payment on a house.  People often avoid thinking about the rewards of patience and write it off completely as one of life’s many burdens. The blessings it can bring out though are endless.

Patience can bring perfect timing, perfect timing can make your greatest mistake appear to be your most brilliant feat. Holding out for the perfect moment, you can show the world magic. In the months and years ahead, in this economy and at the thought of settling down, staking claims and building community, life and family, I must learn to practice patience.