Playing patience

With everyone in a hurry because life itself seems to rushing by, it makes sense to question why traditional wisdom makes such a big deal ou...

With everyone in a hurry because life itself seems to rushing by, it makes sense to question why traditional wisdom makes such a big deal out of patience. Who has the time to go figure? But when things aren8217;t going right and there8217;s zero visibility ahead, perhaps it makes sense to let go and wait it out.

Most of us grew up with this Kabir doha: Dheere dheere re mana, dheere sab kuch hoi; Mali seenche sau ghada, ritu aaye phal hoi. Easy, mind, easy, everything takes its time; Gardeners pour a hundred pots, but fruit comes in season. We mustn8217;t ever stop trying. 8216;Action8217; might mean writing a good report, dressing well, keeping a neat house or growing that herb garden, even if your heart is battered or your body isn8217;t fighting fit.

These simple daily acts of 8216;maintenance8217; burnish life, they8217;re like a flag atop your house, signalling to the red pataka on a house of God that you8217;re connected. Your motto becomes 8220;Do it anyway8221;: who knows when life is going to return your signal?

Depend upon it, 8220;God moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform; He plants His footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm/ His purposes will ripen fast, Unfolding every hour; The bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower8221; a hymn by William Cowper.

This makes extra sense if you8217;re desolate about all the sorrows that have befallen you. You8217;re sick and tired of being brave and all you want to do is weep. Take heart from Holi. Does it not signify the burning away of bad old rubbish?

At a philosophical level, doesn8217;t it mean that time gives us yet another lease of hope that things will improve? Meanwhile, here are King David8217;s splendid words from Psalm 27: 8220;The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life: of whom shall I be afraid?8230; When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thy heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord.8221;

Of course, it8217;s not easy to quietly shut off the anxiety switch, to stay calm through the worrisome upheavals that periodically affect our mind or body. But things do have a crazy habit of working out somehow. And meanwhile, we8217;ve managed to chuck the stress, so it8217;s win-win, rather like how taking a house loan not only buys you an asset but is also tax-deductible.

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To make the waiting easier, let8217;s pull this 10th century Persian verse by Sufi Ahmed Jan out of the mothballs: Kushtagan-e-khanjar-e-taslim-ra/Har zamaan as Ghaib jaan digar ast. Those killed by the dagger of surrender/ Each moment receive help from the Unseen. It really works!