Patience is the ability to tolerate or not getting angry or upset in the face of delay in some work or something not being done as per one’s wish. It also implies remaining calm under adverse situations. As such different people have different levels of patience. Some remain patient for few minutes then their tempers flare up, while others never quit being patient howsoever provoking the circumstances may be. Patience is a virtue with far reaching beneficial effects for the individual health as well as betterment of society.If a person cannot keep his cool in undesirable situations, gets impatient and angry, his sympathetic nervous system gets unduly stimulated. This causes dryness of the mouth, flushing sensation, palpitations, disturbed sleep, loss of appetite, e.t.c. problems. His thinking also gets clouded thus impairing his decision making capacity. His entire working can be affected by this impatient attitude. The high adrenaline levels released in the body cause increased rate of beating of the heart. The blood pressure goes up as a consequence. A state of severe agitation produced in this way, can even precipitate a heart attack. Now when this angry person shouts at or abuses the individual with whom he is angry, that person may also get agitated and may shout back, thus starting a fight. Even if he does not shout back, he feels hurt and may carry on this hurt to retaliate at the first opportunity. In this way, a vicious cycle is produced, where all involved remain stressed. In contrast, a patient person does not get trapped in this cycle of physical and mental stress. Because of his cool attitude, he thinks coolly and can make correct decisions. The other person involved also gets influenced by his patience and tries to help him. In this manner, a person with abundant patience is able to turn an adverse situation in to a favorable one. He remains healthy and happy and happiness of those around him is also preserved. Patience is a great virtue. Those lacking it need to develop this quality in their personality. It is a bit difficult but not impossible. An individual usually loses his patience over something he considers very important. It just needs a change of perspective. One should ponder over that issue and decide whether it really is worth all the shouting and agitation, he is indulging in. Later on as the mind cools, he will realize that most of such issues are really trivial matters, and is simply wasting his energy by getting tense over it. One can practice becoming silent for few minutes, when one feels agitated and angry. In this period of silence, he can calm his troubled mind and regain composure. Another measure which helps in improving the level of patience of a person is to put himself, mentally, in the place of the other individual. Then one can analyze the situation from the view point of another person, as to why he has not done the job as desired by this person. A person should also give human consideration to the other person/persons involved with him in that situation. He should consider that maybe this person, has some problem at home or is tired and hence not able to focus on his work well. Such attitudes will not only help a person to become more patient, but also contribute much to peace in the world. Regard some jobs which are possible only through sheer patience on the part of a human being. Imagine a surgeon operating, bit by bit he opens an organ in the body and then slowly layer by layer closes it. If he gets impatient, the patient can have complications or die. A kindergarten teacher teaching toddlers with love and patience, a public servant dealing with hundreds of people each day, a traffic police man standing all day to see that the traffic moves safely. There are so many examples. Now if these people can work with patience, why not you?So try cultivating patience from today. It is a virtue which will always be helpful and harm none. rachna212002@yahoo.co.uk
