Sonar's Journal: Patience – Is This The Slow Death Of A Master Virtue?

Simply put “Virtue is an admirable quality in a person” this is according to the English Dictionary. There are varieties of human behaviour and character that qualifies to be referred to as virtue but my focus here is just one.

Patience

This Virtue can be traced and identified in every great achievement; it is a companion to the wise and a friend to the diligent. The Holy Bible and so many other books hold this trait in high estimation.

Mandela, Steve Jobs, Tyler Perry, Bill Gates, Warren B, Donald Trump, Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg and many others have spoken about this trait in ways similar to deistic exaltation. Sorry I got carried away back there, all am saying is that ‘Patience as a trait, is a master virtue when cultivated, mastered and appropriately applied to diverse situations. I said ‘properly applied’ because even good traits can be wrongly applied if the possessor has poor judgment.

All things being equal, majority of the challenges young and old people face today can not be separated from the fact that lack of patience contributed in one small way or the other as well. This is so plain because society has allowed technology and anti-development trends to dominate the ‘A’ list Shelf on the rack of moral and social values.

Prof. Wole Soyinka said “The bane of today’s youth is the sad dissipation of the ability to allow process take its due course Alas! patience is no longer a popular virtue but a relegated shadow” he lamented about youths and the rising trend of the quick-quick or sharp-sharp syndrome. I agree with him all the way but this is not just noticeable among the youths alone as everyone is involved.

In the past, the very make-up of society encouraged patience and discipline…  Television stations will not air programmes until late afternoon and they usually start with educational programmes thereby giving workers time to focus on their jobs, students on their home work

– Sunday Imonah

In the past, the very make-up of society encouraged patience and discipline for example; the Television stations will not air programmes until late afternoon and they usually start with educational programmes thereby giving workers time to focus on their jobs, students on their home work and everyone else on other things prior to TV Time. In recent past the dominance of Internet Cafes and the preparation one needed to make to go there, regulated social media behaviour and encouraged discipline since you had to prepare,visit the cafe, buy your tickedand plan your stay there to better manage time. You can check out my previous article.

spellings are nothing to write home about thanks to the abbreviation culture of social media.

– Sunday Imonah

Prior to the internet age, one would have to write letters with pen and paper, post them via postal service and wait for close to two weeks sometimes to receive a reply, back then people actually wrote good letters and can actually spell right unlike now that spellings are nothing to write home about thanks to the abbreviation culture of social media.

[Now again, do not get me wrong, this article is NOT against innovation, rather it is for innovation being a positive part of our lives only when we apply them properly. I am also not saying I love the good old days, Capital NO! feel free to laugh.]

The past system of things made it easier for people to be patient which is such a contrast with now. Today young people are more restless than ever and everyone else wants things to happen now-now, sharp-sharp,quick-quick and all this brings trouble-trouble always. A young lad even had to steal my write-up and posted it on his timeline imagine that, only my forgiving heart and pleas from his Father stayed my lawyer’s hand.

The average amount of patient people have reduced, the use of the word“Patience”is sometimes twisted to mean something derogatory especially in this age of fast connecting social media and technology that has taken away the waiting period of most processes.

This article will not be complete without mentioning this even in passing that online dating has suffered from impatient people who have reduced it to hello in the morning, meeting in the afternoon and immoralities in the evening leaving a trail of broken hearts everywhere… how sad. Let me assume we all know about internet fraud and how much of a pain in the neck it is to us as a nation. In the mean-time, those who adamantly ignore the mockers and stick to their virtue reap massive rewards always. While the mockers keep hating from the sideline.

The reality is that this virtue, though not so popular anymore, still holds its reward for those who master it and apply it appropriately. Patience also does not mean staying idle. Now, here’s food for thought:How would a little patience affect the situation or challenge you are currently facing today, would it have made any difference at all, yes? no?

Just Think about it, think again, am lost in thought myself…

 

About The Writer:

Sunday Imonah, also known as Lord Sonar because of his good music ears and vocal prowess, is an enigmatic Presenter on the Breakfast Show as well as DCA on other belts on Metro FM, He is a voice artiste as well. He has produce, written, and directed creative works for the Station as well. He has voiced Commercials for Companies like Afrab Chem, Cornoil, numerous pharmaceutical and beverage companies as well as religious houses to mention but a few. Sunday is a social critic who uses his writings to proffer solutions for social good.

 

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Twitter: @FirstSonar

 

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