I just started (well, finished I guess is probably a better description!) watching "Marco Polo" 3 days ago on Netflix. Happily, I'll say that Netflix is doing a rather decent job creating TV shows/series that are intriguing and well filmed. Marco Polo has been extremely enjoyable!
It's interesting to watch culture set in a different time and place from my own. I find it fascinating, and understanding how people thought and reacted is always a great juxtaposition to today. In fact, it's a rather great reminder of something that has begun to be found in increasingly short supply today: Patience.
There was one part in the show where one character is talking to another specifically on the subject, and if one could just be patient, forgo the temptations of the "easy" and "convenient", the true path/the reason for what you do will present itself and become clear. It is in haste that incorrect decisions are made.
This also followed immediately behind a night of watching Kung Fu Panda in which Master Shifu definitely struggles with this concept. Thusly, it became two nights of a reminder of the importance of patience.
And this is all extremely important because I have very little. My mother-in-law dubbed me a "doer" a long time ago and it's true. I don't sit idly very well, and I find things to do and occupy my time so as to keep sharp, alert, and well-learned. Now, while these qualities aren't bad, the need to consistently "progress" can become a hindrance when the truth is one has very little control over much of the things in life. Especially the things revolving around someone else's life.
My husband has recently begun discussing looking for a new job. While he is at a loss for the specifics of what he wants to do or where he would like to work, the minute he told me he had been toying with the idea for some time my mind went to work. I started Googling companies and jobs, sending him things in email and forwarding posts I would find. In my head I had a whole system and plan laid out. However, I'm not my husband. We don't think the same way in this area of our lives, and he prefers to take his time and consider all angles, not rushing anything until his internal clock has "dinged", if you will, signaling it is time for him to put in the effort and make the change. So far it's served him well, and that is part of why he excels where he does. However, it is 100% counter-intuitive to how I react. Therefore, I have come to battle my inner patience much in the last few weeks.
As a result, the movie and series reminders of the need to revel in quiet and reflection, that patience endures and often prologues accomplishment was needed. I truly believe we live in a world that touts patience and rewards instant everything, and that directly counters all of how humans have built what they've built up 'til now.
So, I submit to what life is clearly working to teach me: better patience. And, in the glorified works of the Panda, Po, "Inner peace".
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