The Payment in Patience

1. 1.

   a charitable or helpful person (with reference to Luke 10:33).
2. 2.

   a member of a people inhabiting Samaria in biblical times, or of the modern community in the region of Nablus claiming descent from them, adhering to a form of Judaism accepting only its own ancient version of the Pentateuch as Scripture.

A few months back I spoke on how the world has a lot of the same people in it. The differences we hold may be in the way we look, the way we speak but there’s somebody who usually holds character traits similar to someone you’ve met along your life’s journey. There are some of us who understand what it means to self-prioritize; we stay out of the way and try to remain focused on our own lives and how we thrive only. Others are caught up in the succession of things; wanting to live life through accomplishments whether it relates to romantic relationships or own careers. Then you have those other people who are sometimes looked at as passive or maybe even weak because they’re want to help other be the best that they can be. These people look and sound a lot like myself, taking time out of each and every day to donate. These donations don’t come cheap and they are usually not in the form of money. Time, work and effort can all be given to someone with extreme measures. Say you are a person who enjoys your morning coffee before heading into work. You have three co-worker whom you work closely with and like to consider them as great ‘work’ friends. The nice female who sits across from you brings coffee sometimes but make it obvious that she cannot always afford to stop because she catches the bus to work and doesn’t want to be late. Then there’s the cool gay guy who stops by to chat and sometimes brings you tasty treats to share over office gossip. Lastly the overworked young woman who you took a liking to because she just wants to excel from being the office flunky so bad. This girl is awesome at what she does but she has to bend to the hypocrisy of the boss that you all could care less for. The common factor that they all share is the subtle kindness that they’ve shown you throughout your time at your company. Your salary is as stably as a needle in a haystack and your addiction to coffee is not helping you save your pennies. Still, you want to show them how you recognize who they are what they do to make your workplace comfortable so you purchase a box’o joe for you guys to share. Although you don’t know if you can commit to this gesture daily it makes you smile to see the amount of gratitude shown these few.

Sometimes we move in the wake of emotions and the gut of our spirits. Holding the door for the person behind you without considering whether there will be a “thank you” to follow. Stopping in the midst of having to rush because you are running late to help someone who may need it. You may even be housing ill feelings for a family member who constantly wrongs you but you let them stay with you because they have nowhere to live. These contributions to the world are most of the time gone unseen. No credit given, grace seems like a mirage compared to the amount of negative feedback you have to withstand. Consider how many times you’ve held back your own wants and needs to be a mother/father to your children putting form more effort than your counterpart because of their own selfish reasons. To sacrifice any part of yourself can cause you to question how being a person who puts others before yourself can pay off. I am here to tell you there is payment in patience. Think about it this way, do you want the first option of something to eat or would you like the whole menu to be reviewed so that you can make a more conscious decision? This is how I weigh out the good karma I put out versus the advantages and ‘blessings’ if you will of my life. I used to always want that instant gratification from people, places and things to prove to me something that I never thought I already knew.