Patience And Silence: Virtues Of Wise People
Patience and silence are two attributes considered virtues that only the wisest know how to put into practice. With these tools you can face any obstacle or difficulty that life puts you in front of you.
Confucius already said that whoever does not have patience and prudence in the face of small problems in life, when difficulties come, will feel blocked; unable to react. Patience is a virtue that not everyone knows or can manage.
Likewise, silence is that capacity that goes hand in hand with respect and patience that make us able to listen to others. At the same time, it consists of finding a space where you can talk to yourself; deactivating the noise of the environment.
Now, keeping silence is not giving in, it is not hiding an opinion for fear of the consequences. Rather, it is about keeping quiet about what is not worth it, and keeping silence when emotions speak.
Patience and silence: the bond of connection with oneself
It could be said that both silence and patience are two sides of the same coin, a wise coin with ancient roots. An example of this is gathered from that culture about the Native American Indians that the writer Kent Nerburn leaves with books such as Neither Wolf nor Dog: the forgotten paths of an old Indian .
In their works, the importance that the concept of silence and patience had for this people is clear. Here are some simple examples.
Native Americans and silence
As detailed in the work carried out by Yolanda García Mansilla, the Lakota belong to the Sioux tribe of North America. A people with a deep and striking spirituality that, to this day, continue to offer valuable lessons to humanity.
They establish a link with the invisible, with that entity that symbolizes the union with other people: friends, families and loved ones. That bond is established through respect and, above all, with silence.
It is the most respectful capacity between two people. And not only is he silent to listen, but keeping silence is a gift with which to share time and complicity. To, according to a study published by several researchers at the University of North Dakota, learn the art of resilience.
If you think about it, you will realize that when you are with someone and silence suddenly appears, it looks uncomfortable. In fact, to avoid it, the first thing that comes to mind is usually said. But it is necessary to change this vision, since:
- There is nothing more magical than a group of friends who feel comfortable when silence arises.
- There is no obligation to speak, just to “be present”; to be united by that invisible bond that the Lakota spoke of .
- In turn, for Native Americans silence is the virtue through which they are aware of what surrounds and roots the earth.
Patience, an art that is not usually taught
Almost no one teaches that, when one arrives in this world, things do not happen the way one wants. Nor does anything ensure that, no matter how much effort is made, it will happen or that what is expected will happen.
They say that patience is innate in some people, but in reality it is an art that is acquired over time. Based on some disappointment, or that learning that life forcefully teaches.