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Admittedly, I've little patience. I'm aware that patience is a virtuous quality; hence, the expression: patience is a virtue. But the plain fact is few of us have patience in abundance. We want to be patient. We like to believe we are patient, particularly as we evolve and move forward in this life. Yet, there are events and incidences that push us beyond our capacity to demonstrate patience. Patience is not that easy a quality to cultivate in our personalities.

I've one book that I read off an on, Sacred Origins of Profound Things: The Stories Behind the Rites and Rituals of the World's Religions. This is an intense read, given that the subject matter is religion, and its not dependent on your beliefs insofar that you have to be religious to read, enjoy or fathom this book. Religion is the kind of subject matter that will turn off some and interest others, as it does me, but purely from an intellectual standpoint. Given that religion to a large degree has poisoned the world for so long, I want to read about its origins to help me better understand our human need to be beguiled, placated and lead by religious doctrine. In this book, I was struck by one comparison between morality and religion. The author, Charles Panati, writes about ancient times, how morality and religion were seen as one and the same. Whereas, in modern times, morality is viewed separate from religion and is basically the individual's moral code of conduct, applied in dealings with individuals and institutions. Basically, he's suggesting that we're guided by our own internal moral compass that has no relation to God. On the other hand, religion is the relationship we have with God and more importantly what actions we take to nurture that relationship, to ensure we're welcome in the hereafter (according to the religion).

I'm on side with this distinction between morality and religion. It makes sense to me. And if patience is a true virtue, than patience rightly belongs in the ranks of morality, which is to say, logically, your moral compass by all rights should become fine-tuned in your later years to include patience. Laugh away!

The reality of humans and our funny ways is a different story, however. I said it already... I've little patience. I know I need more patience but I'm at a loss as to how to acquire this virtue. For almost 20 years, I've diligently plied and applied myself to my writing, pimping and promoting, pleading and pitching on occasion to literary agents, to include publishers, to see the wisdom of my talent. I tell myself that patience will serve me well because I won't give up. But if my dream came true now, I'd be deliriously happy... well, at least I believe that I would. Thankfully, I'm not alone. I've heard the same cry amongst my girlfriends to the effect of, "I have no patience... I want everything now... I can't wait!" Clearly, we are raising children into adults who are of a particular impatient variety that will possibly lead to more impatience. Being in possession of that rare ability to endure delays is often the greatest request you can make of a person. Don't ask me to be patient when I wait in line or when put on hold, or when I have to navigate the quagmire of voice mail, just to get to a warm body, rather than another layer of voice mail options.

And then something happens along the way, while we toil at pursing our dreams, the passage of time moves along, and it might suddenly dawn on us that our time spent working at our dream (the journey) has been the greatest teacher of them all, leading you to the tippy-top of the mountain where the guru sits, nodding knowingly at you, winking, smiling, as if to say, "You've arrived oh impatient one. Here's your reward, a basket of patience. Take as much as you need." I felt this deeply because nine years have passed since I began writing novel seven, and now that I'm at the stage of copy editing, I'm glad I had that length of time to perfect my manuscript, which had indirectly taught me about patience, while in the process of writing it.

Patience is a sneaky bugger.

And this made me think of lunch I had enjoyed years back, when I was treated by a gal-pal. She and I were helping a mutual friend to celebrate the successful completion of her travel consultant certificate. It was a good day for her. She was obviously happy to begin a new chapter in her life. My gal-pal pulled no punches and kindly pointed out to our mutual friend that it would take her time to build a client base and that her success in the long run would depend on... wait for it... patience. I presented a card to our friend which I thought was appropriate for the occasion and inside it read: Adopt the pace of Nature, her secret is patience.

Good advice for me to be patient as I complete all the stages of finishing a novel, and there are many - editing, and proofreading, typesetting, and printing, eBooks and website updates, social platform launches, and online selling platforms. In this day and age, this modern publishing world in which we thrive is no longer beholding to large traditional publishing firms that have ruled for so long, like all-knowing autocracies. Now the world of Indie authors is here in all our glory. We've taken the long road. We've cultivated patience and we're ready to embrace the length of time it takes to get where we want to be.

Have I learned how to be patient, honestly and truly? I shall answer my own question by saying this: damn the torpedoes. Full steam ahead! Got zero time to waste! 🥳🤣💃