Patience is a Virtue

I've been pondering lately how the Digital Age has made me a very impatient person. (Meghan had her baby on Monday and I've yet to see pictures of the little dude. The horror! 3 days?! That's forever!)

Somewhere along the way, I've come to feel entitled to instant gratification. I don't need to wonder where this stems from. I can send letters to my family with a click of a "Send" button. I don't have to wait days (or even an hour) to see the photos captured by my camera (or anyone else's). (Usually. *cough*Megz*cough*) I can record my favorite television programs at any hour of the day without programming a VCR, and fast-forward through the annoying, time-wasting commercials. I can know what my friends are up to at any minute--no matter how far-flung across the planet they may be--by checking a blog, Twitter or Facebook status update. I don't have to go to the library for reference materials, peruse dozens of old magazine clippings for recipes, make dozens of telephone calls to plan a vacation, search through the phone book to find an address, or hire a private investigator to locate a long-lost friend. I can shop, look for a job, market my business, follow the news, add to my music collection, buy concert and movie tickets, entertain myself, educate myself, communicate, network, organize, meet new people, pay my bills, even keep a journal at the push of a button. I don't need to keep a spare change in my purse for emergencies because I can use my very own portable telephone from a grocery store parking lot, or while driving through a canyon. Who even carries cash these days? I use a card for everything. I wouldn't dream of using dial-up Internet anymore (who has time to wait around for their web pages to load?). It's an On-Demand world, and I fear I've come to rely on that for the sake of my sanity.

I want it NOW simply because I can get it NOW.

How sad. In the space of less than 20 years I've forgotten what it's like to have to wait for things. Even as a child I already had it better than any generation before me. Thermostat and hot water? check. One-stop-shopping? check. Personal care products? check. Car, telephone, dishwasher, microwave, vacuum cleaner, washer & dryer, air conditioning, television, mass transit, overnight shipping, fast food? check-check-check.

I find it remarkable that, in spite of all the "time saving" that the Digital Age affords us, I still feel like there aren't enough hours in the day. After all, I still prepare my own meals (limited restaurant visits and microwave use, not to mention lack of a convection oven or blast freezer, means I do most things the "old-fashioned" way), do my own housework (albeit thanks to automatic dishwasher, vacuum cleaner and laundry machines), drive the speed limit (around road construction, no less), do my shopping in person (granted, it's one-stop-shopping--gotta love Wal-Mart), read books (rather than download or listen to them), and try very hard to get exercise by walking to the park every once in a while or popping in an aerobics DVD. Shouldn't there be time enough to do it all? I don't even have kids yet, and they require 24/7 attention. Will I ever have the time? Will I ever have the patience?

Thing is, some things in life require the wait, the extra time, the old-fashioned "analog" lifestyle. So far, life has demanded my patience in the case of meeting my soulmate, getting an education, having a fulfilling career, owning a home, and raising a family. The things which are too important for instant gratification. Why cheapen it by devaluing the process with haste? Like growing a garden or growing a baby, why rush perfection? It takes time to grow. So, I do practice patience daily. Good things are worth the wait. (And new mamas, like our Meghan, should be free to spend limitless, uninterrupted babymoon time away from their computers, without having to indulge the selfish demands of their rude, impatient web-buddies like me. Gosh!)

My future's out there, waiting for me. And I'll get there in time. It's not my time to rush. I'm taking it slowly.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.