India's story of patience.

There is no story. Indians don’t know the meaning of patience. What is patience you ask us? Waiting for atleast 2 people to checkout before cutting a line. What is patience? Forcing your car between 2 others perpendicular to the whole traffic, within 2 minutes of the signal turning red. What is patience? Rushing into decisions that have a downward effect on the whole nation.

Don’t ever ask us what patience means. We have never known the meaning.

It is a universal problem, however seems to be more concentrated on us. God seemed to have forgotten to give us this virtue. May be we are not one of the worse cases out there, but we aren’t the most saintly ones either. As much caring one is, there is no patience unless it concerns each one of us. The traffic jams would probably be less of a puzzle if we learnt what the white lines on the road mean, how lane discipline works. Stampedes, deaths and accidents wouldn’t be such a bad problem if instead of panic, patience and rationality crept into our minds, and instead of making a situation worse, there could be a rainbow of solution shining above our head.

But no wait! Let’s just all rush into a store like bulls and throw stuff off the racks after seeing them and not finding them pleasing. Because patience.

Well this outburst comes from the accumulated personal experiences which, I’m sure we all can relate to. The important underlying truth behind this behavior that we have been overlooking is a selfish motive. We all do things because apparently it will help us meet an individual desire, but what we forget is that we aren’t alone in this world. Nor are we as individual in the center of it. It is ironic how everyone is capable about advices about patience and etiquettes but no one in the right situation remembers their own advice. Better said than done right?

If we did think about the effect of our behavior on others, then we would be benefitted ourselves. People would be more forgiving, foregoing and kinder. Rushing to make money in a faster way will only reproduce more hungry mouths, more tattered homes and more broken families. On an even larger level religion would not be the excuse for our anxious restless minds, and the real meaning of patriotism would still be intact.

Less soldiers would be rushed off to war, if countries would negotiate patiently. Laws wouldn’t have to be ENFORCED on people since everyone would understand it better. There would be more agreement and solutions then a worsening economy.

Well like Aristotle famously said, patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet. But sweet fruits haven’t ripened yet. They won’t till us as individuals take steps to improvement. Because urging no longer works. Actions speak louder and inspiration is the weapon to get results. India needs results now, leading as a nation should be our aim not individual motives. We have dug our own graves and this our own fault.

Something needs to be done. We all are running out of patience.

Few words: Eid Mubarakh. :)