Patience

What is patience? The Free Dictionary define it as:

pa·tience  (pshns)

n.

1. The capacity, quality, or fact of being patient.

Synonyms: patience, long-suffering, resignation, forbearance
These nouns denote the capacity to endure hardship, difficulty, or inconvenience without complaint. Patience emphasizes calmness, self-control, and the willingness or ability to tolerate delay: Our patience will achieve more than our force (Edmund Burke).
Long-suffering is long and patient endurance, as of wrong or provocation: The general, a man not known for docility and long-suffering, flew into a rage.
Resignation implies acceptance of or submission to something trying, as out of despair or necessity: I undertook the job with an air of resignation.
Forbearance denotes restraint, as in retaliating, demanding what is due, or voicing disapproval: "It is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each other" (Patrick Henry).

But patience can be described as many things. For instance, I am having to exercise patience now, when the definition above has ruined my ability to begin new paragraphs at the far left of a page- perhaps this is a little 'test' sent from above with the tagline; 'you think you have patience? Well we will just SEE about that!'.

But I digress, patience can be described as not reacting to an aggravating force, but is that really just passive resistance? It can also be described as remaining calm in the face of an intolerable event, but is that not just even temperament?

And why is it associated with the synonyms long-suffering, resignation and forbearance? Is it because patience is practised by those who allow others to trample over their needs and emotions? Does the application of patience mean having to endure wrongs, slights, provocation, trying situations which can even be despairing? Does it mean we cannot right those wrongs; forbearance suggesting no situation where retaliation or even speaking up for oneself is allowed?

Personally I find patience a fickle master. It allows me to tolerate some situations; like the mad ramblings of a neurotic cabby or my child asking me the same question for the ninetieth time that morning, but disallows it at other times, mostly notably when speaking to certain people.

In my case, I find that as I am of even temperament, and have a strong sense of justice and morality[thanks to all those superheroes I grew up watching] that I tend to have more patience with those who cannot help their behaviour; such as the young, and the learning impaired. My patience runs out with selfish people, or immoral people, and is MOST tried by those who are simply idiots.

We all know an idiot; the one who thinks they are the best, all-knowing, most perfect specimen of humanity ever to grace Mother Earth. If you don't; it's you, but also, if everyone you meet seems to be an idiot, it's likely to be you again, either that or you badly need to move house!

However, the best reward for patience is a little Schadenfraude in it's completion... when you have been patient, even though the guy is an idiot who is a rude bully, and the universe suddenly says 'woah there buddy, you're being a total pr*ck, here; have a buttload of karma.' 

These are the best moments of revenge, where you can cackle internally and know the bully can't blame you....