Growing Up

What a terribly accelerated society we live in.

People rushing everywhere, complaining about everything, hating others for the sheer fact that they made us wait a little longer than we expected when they are just doing their job etcetc.

And it doesnt help that we are youths; that I am a young testosterone-filled punk.

I go overseas and am blown away completely as I see how life is supposed to be lived, at least in the 'taking time to enjoy it' sense of the word.

People in America, Europe, UK, Japan and even Malaysia are much less hurried and easily agitated than we are. We like to rush everything, show all signs of displeasure as if it is the end of the world if we don't get our takeaway on time or kena a traffic light, and scream and complain and complain and complain...

No wonder we have to come up with acronyms such as 'kiasu', 'kiasee' and kia-justabouteverythingwecanbeputinto to barely define what Singaporeans are like.

Then the snowball begins.

One such minute happening at any point of the day triggers our spiral into fury and contempt for life; one exaggerated molehill and our whole day is ruined, and the point of bliss is shattered by a random statement by anyone or anything you can think of a reason to hate.

I am guilty of such.

Maybe it's the mindset of the environment we grew up in, maybe its the constant heat, maybe its the testosterone bursting bodies we live in that seem to carry on into adulthood that has forged such a unique albeit undesirable society.

But can we really excuse ourselves of our flaws?

There are an infinite amount of reasons to explain our lack of patience away, but at the end of the day, do we even have it in the first place?

Patience: the ability to wait calmly for a long time and not be made angry by delay.

Did you just read that?

It's an ability.

Yes, at some point it entails an innate subsistence, but more importantly, it requires practice. It ain't going to come naturally 24/7.

Fused with the efforts of everyone to try and be patient, just imagine what a better place we would live in? And how much better we'd feel?

We won't be upset at every negligible action.

We won't be feeling like crap every moment of the day.

We'd in fact have a light and cheery feeling that we'd never thought possible before.

How do I know all this??

Simply because I have been trying recently very hard to be patient.

Very very hard mind you.

Millions of times I just wanted to burst out screaming and cursing about one setback or another, but I immediately think:

"Will feeling this way change anything? Will being upset help me?"

Every single time my response has been:

"Guess not, let me just take a step back and enjoy the sights instead."

Immediately, I can feel the peace in my heart.

Immediately.

No wonder patient people are always the most jovial. They know how to enjoy life and pretty well at that.

Patient people aren't weird, they are just like you and me, but with a decision to keep their heads and their emotions firmly in place.

I challenge you practice patience just five times today, when you are the most frustrated.

Take a step back just five times and suck it up. And you come back and tell me the difference you feel.

If you don't feel any difference, either you're not doing it right and still are holding something back, or I will personally apologise to you for my writing of this post and give you a hongbao, I promise.

5 times, see how much better you immediately feel.

Not too much to ask?

Remember, patience is an ability ;-)