What pays??!

“I can’t take this stress anymore” She said.

“What stress??!!” I asked

“All around me my friends are getting married or having babies...!” She said softly, I could feel her sadness. She has been through a messy breakup recently.

And may be that’s why she had frantically called me late in the night. She is my adopted sister, almost younger than a decade. 

“Baby, you are still very young! Please don’t stress out due to comparisons with people around you. Each one comes to this life with their own set of experiences and problems. People usually share their happy experiences very easily but when it comes to problems or bad experiences – They would not be that open to sharing. So you don’t know their journeys in totality.” I thought being logical was the best thing.

“Hmmm”, her voice clearly indicating cynicism.

I knew I had to try harder to make her feel better. “Look at me now, I said, You know I had to wait long  till I found my husband. And he is the best thing that happened to me. Very caring, loving and best of all, very patient with me. I thank God everyday for having him in my life! Likewise, you too will find your mate. When the time is right, the right person will come along without any doubt. Till then go with the flow, your patience will pay”

Hearing my own voice felt so soothing. 

I could not believe it; I could be so compassionate and soothing to my sister but when it comes to my own self – this kindness totally vanishes. I lose patience. I want the perfect job, the perfect career, the perfect health, the perfect life. My slip ups make me really angry. I wonder when did this fascination with perfection start??! In theory, I know perfection is a myth.

Anyway, I would not want to preach something that I don’t follow myself. So, the day I heard myself say the words “go with the flow, your patience will pay” was the day I resolved to follow my own f***ing advice.

Patience is a virtue and can’t be imbibed suddenly out of the blue. But It’s also exactly what we should have in these uncertain times. Hence, I humbly offer the new mantra of my life “Patience with myself, Patience with others and finally Patience with our circumstances.” Sometimes I fail at it badly, sometimes I outshine my own expectations. 

But one has to keep trying, right?