… or so I’ve been told. But what does this really mean? And what’s a virtue?
Sometimes I think people just hear these quotes/expressions and use them without even thinking.
Well, I looked it up. And Dictionary.com gives the following definitions:
virtue: [vur-choo]
- moral excellence; goodness; righteousness.
- conformity of one’s life and conduct to moral and ethical principles; uprightness; rectitude.
- a particular moral excellence.
- a good or admirable quality or property: the virtue of knowing one’s weaknesses.
- manly excellence; valor.
Patience has never been one of my strengths, though admittedly over the years, I have had a lot of experience learning to tolerate; learning to listen; learning to hold my tongue; learning when to walk away from a situation. Is this patience? Moral excellence? Is this an admirable quality that I possess?
Hmmmm…
It’s funny cuz many people think this is one of my least admirable qualities. I wonder though, how do you identify whether you’re being rude, as opposed to being ‘patient’?
Perhaps it’s an ‘admirable quality’ to hang up the phone when you know that the next words out your mouth promise to be hurtful… scathing. Or maybe it’s ‘admirable’ to ignore a person and walk away when you’re certain that you’re on the verge of choking them should you stand before them for even one second more.
So does doing this make me a patient person? A person of excellent moral values? (And yes, the aforementioned statements ARE things I’ve done time and again.)
I can’t say that one can define morals, or admirable qualities either for that matter. I suppose it’s all simply a matter of opinion, and this blog post has become a lot of lines rambling about a topic on which I’m sure to draw a conclusion would be difficult.
Nevertheless, the quality of ‘being patient’, that is, “the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation or the like”… I wish this for the people closest to me, who all seem to be going through a ‘trying’ time that they need to endure rather than walk away from, so that they may reap the rewards which they so rightly deserve.
I believe this ‘patience thing’ may very well be the first step to a person’s happiness… And if for any reason you feel you’re nearing your breaking point, take a deep breath (inhale… exhale)…
… and smile 🙂
"Living & Loving Life" 