There once was an young man who lived in a town renowned for its cutting and crafting of gemstones. He wanted desperately to become a gemologist because those in that profession were well respected and well paid. So the young man approached one of the local experts and implored him to take him on as an apprentice. The master was reluctant to take the youth under his wing because, after conversing with the lad, he feared that he would not have the patience to learn. But the young man was persistent in his pleading for a chance and so, with some reluctance, the master craftsman agreed to hire him. “Be here tomorrow morning at first light and be prepared to work hard all day and every day at learning our trade,” he told the joyous boy.
The next morning the young man was on time and eager. All night he had dreamed of himself becoming the most respected and famous of all of the village’s long line of talented gemologists. “I can’t wait to become both rich and famous!” he thought to himself as he sat down next to his mentor at his workbench. The expert placed a jade stone in the boy’s hand and told him to hold it and then went about his work cutting, weighing, and setting gems. The youth sat quietly and waited.
All day and into the evening the master worked, but he never spoke or assigned any additional task to the youth. At quitting time the master took the jade stone from the boy and locked it up in the safe. He patted the lad on the head and said, “A good day’s work. I’ll see you in the morning.” Somewhat confused and a bit frustrated, the boy departed for home.
The following morning the expert again placed the jade stone in the youth’s hand and instructed him to hold it. On the third, fourth and fifth day the same routine was repeated. The lad’s confusion and frustration was now on the verge of turning into anger.
On the sixth day the youth was once again instructed to hold the stone, but he could no longer stand the silence or hold his tongue. “Master,” he exclaimed, “when am I going to learn something?”
“You’ll learn,” the expert replied and went about his business.
Several more days passed and the youth’s frustration mounted with each of them. Finally, one morning as the expert approached and beckoned for him to hold out his hand, the boy was about to shout out that he could no longer go on and he was quitting. But as the master placed the stone in the boy’s hand, the young man exclaimed without looking at what was placed there, “This is not the same jade stone!”
Smiling, the master responded, “Now, you have begun to learn!”
Patience is the ability to tolerate waiting, delay, or even frustration without becoming overly agitated or upset. It’s the ability to be able to control your emotions or impulses and proceed calmly when faced with difficulties. It comes from the Latin word pati which means to suffer, to endure, to bear.
Needless to say, patience does not come easily to most of us and it’s probably harder now to be patient than historically it has ever been.
In today’s world of “instant everything,” technological advancements and readily available credit have allowed us to obtain, experience, and consume practically anything we want – almost immediately.
Do we even need to be patient anymore?
Well, if we want to reach our goals, have successful relationships and achieve personal peace, the answer is a resounding yes!
Anything worthwhile and of importance cannot take place right away. It takes time, dedication and effort to achieve; so even in this day and age, patience is still a virtue.
“I beg you, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.” – Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
Have an AWE-full weekend!
William J. “Bill” Bacqué