Chapter 1 - THE PHILOSOPHY OF PATIENCE

If I were to define Patience with a word, it would be STILLNESS. The next best word will be WAITING. It is the ability to be Still Within that helps you wait for the storm to pass. It is this inner stillness that fosters tolerance for delay and difficulties.

This stillness comes from within you; In this stillness, there is no judgment, emotions, thoughts, or scheming - just pure and quiet stillness. 

It is a simple concept, really,  but INCREDIBLY HARD (with a capital H) to practice.  In Chapter 2 - Why Patience is Hard to Practice. We will explore why this is so. 

Now that we have an intuitive sense of what patience feels like, let us look at its official definition and real-world definitions to get the complete picture.

OFFICIAL DICTIONARY DEFINITION FOR PATIENCE. 

Patience (noun). From: Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

The ability to stay calm and accept a delay or something annoying without complaining.

Example: People have lost patience with (= have become annoyed about) the slow pace of reform.

The central theme across all the dictionary definitions is “waiting and tolerance”. While this is true, patience goes deeper than that. At its core, the true essence of Patience is  “stillness-within”. It is the inner calmness and silence that enables you to tolerate delay or provocation without responding negatively. 

Waiting, by itself, signifies a battle with time. The moment waiting feels like an inner battle, it ceases to be patience and becomes self-control (We explore the difference between patience and self-control in Chapter 5 - Facts about patience.

REALISTIC DEFINITION FOR PATIENCE.

To practice patience, it is imperative to understand its core so you know where to start. Below is a more realistic and practical definition.

Patience (noun).

1. The ability to remain still internally. Especially in the face of adversity.

Example: The customer service representative demonstrated patience by staying calm and composed while addressing the angry customer’s complaints. 

2. Trading time for a more worthwhile reward.

Example: With patience, the football team waited for their opponents’ defense to tire out before making their decisive attack.

Now that we know its realistic meaning, let me establish the fact that acquiring patience is not easy. In the next chapter, we will explore why this is so and how to navigate it. 

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