22 Jun Meditate to Develop Patience in this Frantic World

-Janice Tang, Hong Kong

Developing patience is an important skill by learning to turn off your inner fire whenever it lids up.

In today’s world, we are blessed to receive everything at the highest efficiency. Think about your daily life, there are fast-speed internet, fast food, same-day delivery, instant messaging, e-transfer, and high-speed trains. These are core integration of our life, living and breathing in the convenience and efficiency created from advanced technology and digitalization. With time, technology will only shorten the productivity time and enhance the way we interact, work, and live. If studied further, technology creates an entitlement for us to get things done now with immediate results. What’is lost and forgotten? Patience.

Now far too often, people loses temper on little things. People get annoyed when the public transportation experience technical failures. People lose their temper when others take too long to reply to messages.  Some get frustrated by the internet speed because both their work and personal life are so dependent on the online platform. The classic situation is when people get irritated when dealing with difficult people. Everything seems to work on the fine lines of patience and tolerance.

The first step is to develop patience through mindful meditation.

I spent an average 3 hours a day on traffic by commuting from home to work. Bangalore has a national reputation in India for its long and rigorous traffic jams that are present from 8 am to 9 pm every day. I have not seen any worse in the entire world especially after living in cities, like Toronto, Hong Kong, Beijing and Milan. At first, I felt like I was losing my whole life to the traffic, especially from all the honking and madness from all the people, tuk tuks and vehicles in close proximity.  There was a time when I was stuck in the same position for 20 minutes. It really felt like life was meaningless.

What I have learned from this experience is the development of patience.

Patience is a virtue. It is most definitely a crucial skill especially living in an ever-changing world driven by technology and globalization. Therefore it is important to cultivate patience in the following steps.

1. Accept the moment. Don’t try to fight against your emotions and acknowledge the presence for what it is.
2. Sit or stand straight and take a few deep breaths before you do or say anything. Let thoughts flow in the same rhythm as your breath.
3. Understand that the unpleasant sensation is only temporary. As long as you don’t control it, it will gradually fade away.
4. Embrace difficulty with a positive mindset. All we know is that everything changes. Everything is temporary.

Don’t be afraid to try and cultivate patience.

As for myself, I have learned to embrace the 3-hour traffic by accepting what it is and allowing my mind to rest in harmony and peace.