Patience seems to be a forgotten quality. Most of us have trouble waiting in a line to purchase tickets, for the traffic lights to change, or for the driver to pick us up from school. We are familiar with this saying, “Patience is a virtue”, but do we really understand the meaning behind it?

The dictionary defines patience as the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble or suffering without getting angry or upset. This is one way to put it, but it also has a deeper meaning. The word patience means the willingness to stay in the present and live the situation out to the full in the belief that something special will manifest itself to us at the right time. It goes with my favorite phrase, everything happens for a reason. Patience is the ability to remain calm and wait for something even if it takes a day, month, or even three years. For example; a tennis player who wants to play professionally on the tour and be a top ranked player, need to be patient, in order to reach his or her goals. Nothing comes easily in life, but if you have patience the thing you desire most will flourish at the right time. Patience will lift you up, but if you are always pessimistic you might not even see the chance to break through. You will be too busy complaining about the chance you missed before rather than focusing on the present. This will be an opportunity missed, which you could have taken if you just had the patient to wait for the right moment. Chanelle Scheepers, a South African tennis player, waited eight years for her break through to be ranked thirty seven in the world. Her patience over the eight years of trying took her to that spot, where she could have easily stopped and quit due to her anger and disappointment.

Benjamin Franklin once said: “He that have patience can have what he will.” Having the ability to remain patient, will help you achieve big or better things in life. Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet. No one said life is going to be easy because all things are difficult before they become easy, but it will be your level of patience that will determine your fate.