Reflection
There is so much impatience in our daily contacts from honking horns to verbal expressions of annoyance. Patience is the ability to control oneself in annoying or difficult situations. It is more than just gritting our teeth and hanging in there. Instead of reacting blindly, it enables us to realize we do not have to get angry just because things don’t go our way. We cannot avoid unpleasant, frustrating situations or people who may annoy us, but we can look at difficult situations in a more realistic manner. Patience requires the strength to keep focused on what is important and keep calm under pressure. It enables us to maintain our self-respect, keep our relationships intact and find peaceful solutions to differences.
Prayer
Make me an instrument of Your peace.
Action
What do you experience in your daily interactions? What do you think is acceptable? How can you improve your own responses?
Suggested Reading
Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.
Proverbs 29:11
A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.
Proverbs 15:18
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Ephesians 4:2
You will catch more flies with a spoonful of honey than with a barrelful of vinegar.
St. Francis de Sales
Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone’s face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come.
Henri Nouwen
Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.
Mahatma Gandhi
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
Isaac Asimov
Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.
Thomas A’ Kempis
Have patience with all things, But, first of all with yourself.
Saint Francis de Sales
Patience is the companion of wisdom.
Saint Augustine
Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better take things as they come along with patience and equanimity.
Carl Jung
The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.
Arnold H. Glasow