Impatience

Remember the road rage that was so prevalent several years ago? People were getting hurt, some seriously. Drivers were nervous about any little irritation shown by other drivers. Road rage still exists. But recently I heard about a new rage. It’s call “sidewalk rage.”

Apparently some young people are getting upset by “old people” who are walking too slowly on the sidewalks. Sometimes older folks cause traffic slow down on sidewalks by socializing with their friends. The impatient young folks suggest creating special “Old People Sidewalks”. Some of them even plan to knock the old people on the back of their heads and push them aside.

When I first heard this report, it took me a while to realize that it is real, and then it dawned on me that impatience has become viral. We live in a world where everything becomes instantly available, or at least people expect them to be instantly available. The electronic age has created generations of young people impatient for instant results and instant gratification. That they even cannot appreciate the beauty of slowing down to socialize with friends and neighbors, like the old folks do, is a sad testimony of impatience overtaking the enjoyment of living in the moment.

My friends and I have a Sunday hiking group when we explore different parts of the island. Some hikes are easy and some very challenging, but always enjoyable. Not only do we get a good work out, we also take our time exploring the surroundings, finding exquisite flora and fauna, birds and bees (and stung by them). Through sliding on muddy slopes, stumbling among rocky hills, we learn to appreciate what we have, sometimes right in our “backyard.”. We don’t rush around to get the hikes finished as soon as possible, rather, we slow down.

Sometimes I hear yoga students grumbling on the slow progress they are making in reaching certain level of accomplishment. I like to point out that it is the “journey”, not the destination, that we yogis and yoginis look for. In fact, there is no “destination” in yoga practice. It is a life long journey, sometimes easy, sometimes hard, but always a present-moment experience. Patient dedication to our practice is accomplishment in itself.

I found this wonderful quote by James Keller, “Three hundred years ago a prisoner condemned to the Tower of London carved on the wall of the cell this sentiment to keep up his spirits during his long imprisonment: ‘It is not adversity that kills, but the impatience with which we bear adversity.’”

Let the old folks linger on the sidewalks.

Namaste,
Clarie