May is the month of expectation, the month of wishes, the month of hope.
Emily Brontë
April showers bring May flowers, and hopefully sunshine to celebrate this month of spring. May is often seen as the "gateway to summer". There's much to appreciate within those 31 days, especially in Clinton. It's the month of Heritage Week, the Old Timers’ Tea, the May Parade and Rodeo, the Clinton Annual Ball, and the rodeo dance. Let's not forget the Victoria Day long weekend and Mother's Day.
We're transitioning from winter to Spring and are impatient for warm weather. We are anxious to get our seeds in the ground, even though we know it is still too soon and too cold for gardening.
Upon reflection, I think we're impatient about a lot of things, a lot of the time. TV news showed long lines of people waiting to vote at the advance polls. Some of these people in line expressed views that "something should have been done about this." The same news showed long lines at the ferry terminal, as people waited to board the ferry to travel to Vancouver Island. Same response: finger pointing, and a feeling that someone was to blame, that Easter long weekend traffic should have been better-managed.
Author Victor M. Parachin says patience — the ability to endure delays or inconvenience without complaint — is a fundamental virtue upon which all other virtues depend.
"Patience doesn't mean passivity or resignation, but power. It's an emotionally freeing practice of waiting, watching, and knowing when to act," writes psychiatrist Judith Orloff, MD, while martial artist, actor, and philosopher Bruce Lee said that "Patience is not passive. On the contrary, it is concentrated strength."
Those two pertinent quotations are strong reminders that patience is a vital life skill. Without it we give up too soon, feel victimized, complain long and loud, irritate others, upset family, frustrate our friends, and behave irrationally.
No one has to live like that. Anyone can cultivate the ability to be patient, but it takes practice. You might have seasonal allergies. an unpleasant work partner, an irritating in-law. You can use these natural irritants of life and frustrations as positive opportunities. The next time you find yourself in such a situation, say to yourself "I will be patient and content." Over time it will become part of who you are. You will be patient and content.
Patience saves time and money and injury. Have you seen some drivers make risky lane changes to get ahead faster? Have you seen road rage? Both of these behaviours are fuelled by impatience.
Patience is an important anger management tool. It is the antidote to anger. If you are irritated or angry, that can lead to violence. Anger is difficult to control. It strongly compels us to action, whether towards another person or circumstances, or even to violence. Patience makes you a nice person who is responsive, not reactive.
"Patience is the capacity to welcome difficulty when it comes, with a spirit of strength, endurance, forbearance, and dignity, rather than fear, anxiety and avoidance," wrote Norman Fischer. The way to deal with life's frustrations is with an abundance of patience.
If you're still in spring cleaning mode, don't forget that the seniors would welcome any gently-used items for their July 1 Yard Sale. Just leave them on the porch at the Clinton Seniors’ Centre (217 Smith Avenue).
May 15 is the next regular meeting of the Clinton Seniors’ Association, following lunch at the Seniors’ Centre. Enjoy all the wonderful events of Heritage Week!
There are no member birthdays to celebrate in May.
A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.
John Barrymore
