How do we show patience?
Patience is our True Character word of the month.
At True Balance Karate we have a comprehensive character development program called True Character. Every month we have a word of the month with worksheets and mat chats at the end of every class.
This month it’s time to talk about having some patience.
Patience is not easy.
Patience is something that we need, because sometimes it takes time to get the things we want in life. Not everything that we want and need always comes right away. But you know what, a lot of times we kind of wish it did.
We are going to go over a little way that we can show patience.
Show patience at home
At home, we have to show patience for a lot of different things.
Sometimes we have to wait for help with some homework.
Or we need to show patience with dinner. If we want to make a nice dinner, it does not come out right away — it takes time.
We need to show patience with our siblings, our brothers and our sisters. Sometimes if they are younger, we have to show patience while they are learning something. If they are older, we have to show some patience for them to help us — they might be in the middle of something and can’t help us immediately.
We also need to show patience with the bathroom. Sometimes somebody else is in it and we just need to take a deep breath and wait. We have to show a little patience there too.
Show patience in class
We also have to show patience at school. When we have a question and it is going to take the teacher a minute or two to get to us, we need to show patience before we get our answers.
We can show patience here at the studio while in class. When we are in karate class, we have to show some patience. We are out here; we are punching and kicking on the mat. If you need to go to the bathroom, you raise your hand and wait to be called on. We don’t just run across the mat — we may get kicked. We show a little patience.
We need to show patience with our skills and our belts. It takes time and practice to get good at anything. You won’t have an expert side kick after one try. You won’t have an expert side kick after 100 tries. But by the time you get to 10,000 tries, that kick is going to be able to break four boards. The only way to get there is to show some patience and take it one kick at a time.
Show patience in the community
We need patience when we are out in the community — in a store, a restaurant, etc.
If we are in a store waiting for the checkout line, does complaining make the line go faster? No, of course not. Actually complaining makes the time move slower. We need to show patience and wait our turn.
When we go to a restaurant, we wait for a table, order our food, and then wait for it to come. Does complaining make the food taste better? No, of course not. We need to show patience and wait. Good food doesn’t come right away.
When we are at the playground we need to show patience. Sometimes we need to wait to use something on the playground. Is it safe or fun to push people out of the way and cut to the front? Is it a black belt attitude? Is it nice? No! Showing patience and waiting your turn is the right thing to do.
Impatience happens to all of us
Everyone gets impatient. It’s not just OK to feel that way, it’s expected.
However part of having a black belt attitude is being able to show patience, even if we are feeling impatient. When you show patience at home, at school, in a store, at a restaurant, or on the playground; you are not just being a good person, you are showing the True Character of a black belt.
Thanks and we will see you on the mat.
–Master Helsdon