In my self absorbed state; when the challenges that I find significant seem to be all that matter, I find myself astounded by the level of perseverance that I have achieved in order to do my job. I am an educator; a beacon of light to some and a mere distraction to others (depending on the day). I face many challenges in my week but in my most patient state when I’m not so egoistic; epiphanies often find their way to the surface. At this very moment of clarity I realize that the youth of today are challenged with issues that would rival Job’s. The earthquakes that plague their lives come with aftershocks that would rattle the foundation of the average individual. Often I am told by friends and associates that my profession is admirable and that they themselves could never amass the level of patience that is needed do what I do. I tend to agree. I have also been told by many who know me that this profession is perfect for me because I have always possessed (allegedly) the required patience needed to fill the task of being a teacher. I guess that makes me a virtuous man (he writes with a slight smirk on his face), because after all patience is a virtue.
With this in mind, I decided to do a little research. What is it about patience that makes it so (pardon the expression) damned virtuous. I decided first to look up the word virtue. This is what I found
1. moral excellence; goodness; righteousness
2. conformity of one's life and conduct to moral and ethical principles; uprightness; rectitude.
3. a particular moral excellence. Compare cardinal virtues, natural virtue, theological virtue.
Needless to say, reading these definitions made me feel a little uncomfortable. Although I’d like to think that I aspire to be virtuous most of the time, I don’t think that on most days my patience comes from such aspirations. In fact, in many cases the patience that I exhibit comes from apathy as a means of self preservation. I would even venture to say that many of us in our work lives possess similar safety mechanisms to keep from going utterly insane.
Therefore, the question that still remains is how do we reach the virtuous part of our patience? Does it even exist? I received the answer to this question recently while I was sitting home noodling on my guitar. I decided after 10 years of procrastination and fear to try my hand at learning two of my favorite Jimi Hendrix tunes; Axis: Bold as Love and Little Wing. Anyone who is a guitar player and appreciates this man’s music would probably say that the very thought of learning it can be quite overwhelming. I can’t really say what it was that motivated me to venture on this path of hammer ons, B minor 9ths and embellishments. They always intimidated me in the past. The only thing that I can say is that from somewhere inside of me the patience appeared. It came without judgment or regret. I just took a deep breath and allowed my self to learn each song as if I had all the time in the world. In essence, it came from love I possessed for his music and for me.
I came in to work today with an extra pep in my step. When my students and colleagues asked me how my weekend was, I smiled and told them it was time well spent. And occasionally when I came across a student who decided that he wanted to disrupt my class by talking out of turn, coming in late, or asking to go the bathroom in the middle of my lesson, my patience was transformed from an act of survival to an act of love. I think in those moments I discovered patience as a bonafide virtue.
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