The Cure for Impatience

After much thought, I have finally decided that the cure for impatience is riding on the train during rush hour! Please note that while the term “riding” is not meant to imply that there will be any sitting involved. It means that you will be transported from one location to another, hopefully in the same number of pieces that you started with. Why do I advocate a train ride at rush hour to cure impatience?

For one thing, a train ride at rush hour affords you the opportunity to have almost every inch of your body compressed by complete strangers, thus distracting the rider from any thoughts of impatience.

In addition, there is a peculiar sense of community that occurs when you are enclosed in a moving rectangular car with people from many different walks of life. Whether you stand, sit or cling for dear life, your eyes scan the vast diversity of humanity, only to realize, that we are all more similar than dissimilar and we all share the same goal, to get to our desired destination. In these moments, it is possible to experience tolerance and understanding, some of the key antidotes for impatience.

It is an exercise in futility for even the most impatient person to rush, push or complain on the train. I have learned this lesson the hard way. No matter how impatient I am, the train comes when it is ready.

There is no way to predict who will be on the train, what people will say or how they will act.

Virtually every time I get on the train, I start out running, as if I could make the train come faster. But as I stand on the landing with all of the other passengers, looking at the city, I begin to find a sense of calm and let go of the desire to control my world. In that moment, my impatience lessens.

I remain a dedicated advocate of riding the train at rush hour as a cure for impatience. While I would like to think that there are shortcuts on the spiritual journey to acquiring this attribute, I have not found them. So whenever I need to work on patience, I jump on the train at rush hour-it’s a sure cure for impatience. Happy riding!