Anyone who knows me knows that normally my patience is attached to a pretty short fuse. I have been working on that over the last few years and feel like I am making significant progress, in my oh so very humble opinion. Whatever the reason, baby or the wisdom I gain every day that I age (which is only ever other day, aging every day is just too fast for me and I am ok being less wise because of that) I do have a lot more patience that I used to that is for sure. I guess getting older has provided me with some good qualities, I just cannot remember them (on fire with the old jokes today). But still the fact remains that on certain issues I have little to no patience.
Here are some items that keep my fuse pretty short. I read the other day that the last of the black rhinos in Mozambique were killed, on a national reserve. The current estimated date for extinction the rhino is 2015. Let me check, yep that is less than 2 years away. So angry, no patience for that. And what makes it even worse for me is that I feel helpless in trying to correct the situation. But please note all remaining wild rhinoceros out there, people do care, and not everyone wants that giant finger nail (which is what the horn is) on your face. Looks way better on you, honestly I could never pull off that look. It would unbalance the two horns I already have on the top of my head.
And on the trip that I mentioned above I also witnessed plastic pollution that I really could never have imagined was still possible in 2013. Plastic bags literally covered a major road in a city of 3.5 million. I do not mean a handful of plastic bags here and there, but actually lined the street. And of course this large city is right on a major body of water, awesome. For that I am not patient And why should I have to be? There is an easy answer, stop throwing the plastic out on the street or better yet stop using it.
The common link between this two situations is the need for a quick buck. What is missed is that fast money is so shortsighted and temporary. I have no patience for that.
I am fully aware that I am far far from perfect, exhibit A lack of patience. But I do try to either make the world around me as nice a place as possible, or at the very least not make it any worse. I know that may not add up to a lot when you know animals are being wiped off the planet for a horn or waterways are being clogged with useless plastic. I have a friend that writes a blog about her kids, and without knowing it she always offers me a gentle reminder that when I am tired or frustrated with my little one (or anyone else in my family for that matter) that I need to remember that that time is limited and will soon be gone. So I gain some patience back and enjoy the moment (or the next one) rather than complaining about (even though I still do that too, shame on me). But I do hate to think that these moments are all many of us, rhinos and oceans included, have left. I will try to be patient with the people who are shortsighted, who do not seem to care, and are so easily bought, but I cannot guarantee how long that will last. In the meantime I will be calm and patient as possible and continue to try and change the world one small action at a time. I owe that patience to the planet, because she sure as heck has been patient with my breed for a long time.
