Aug 8, 2008

#85: Patient Man Ride Donkey (Friday, August 8)

In Jamaica, we have a saying, "Patient man ride donkey", which means that only a patient person can ride a donkey. They are stubborn animals who won't budge until they are good and ready, no matter how much you weep or plead.

Earlier this week, I saw first-hand what a little patience can do. A friend of mine had been dealing with a toxic situation for more than a year. Many people (including me) gave her advice on how she should handle it, but being the trusting person she is, she didn't take any of it. She just wanted to believe that in essence, people were good, and things would work themselves out. But they got worse, and I got pretty ticked off that she wasn't listening to anyone's advice and was just waiting for things to sort themselves out.

It took over a year, but the situation finally resolved itself. She was so happy that she "went to 5:30 mass, and lit two candles for St. Jude..." (St. Jude is the patron saint of hopeless cases, for the religiously-challenged.) LOL.

Granted, I don't think I could wait a year for something so oppressing to resolve itself, but she taught me a little lesson about being patient. And something I was reading just last night reinforced it even further:

"Patience gives us time to reflect, to actually enjoy our life without rushing around chasing our tails and accomplishing nothing but stress-related illnesses. With patience also comes a space for inspiration, that ah ha moment when we know what the next step is for us to move closer to our dreams. This can only be heard when we are still and quiet long enough to listen..."

It's a good thing I'd already absorbed the message last night. I had my mid-year review today and just found out that I will likely not get the promotion I've been working towards all year. LOL.

2 comments:

Crankyputz said...

In my grandmother's last letter she wrote at the end that she was faithfully praying to Saint Jude everyday for me.

So I googled St. Jude,

I am now no longer writting back to my nana.

Now onto to the post. Agreed. I'm a pushy, want to change things girl, yet in love, I am patient as the fella riding a donkey. Everytime I think I've given up and come to my senses on Dracs, it seems I've got a little more to give. I know one day it will all end, but I still marvel at my seemingly endless patience...

Unknown said...

You will find these sayings certain part of the Caribbean or at least throughout it