Friday, January 16, 2015

The Lesson Of Waiting

This morning on Facebook I was reminded twice of how much our society and our children have become the land of 'instantaneous gratitude'.  So many want everything now, given on demand and never having to wait for results by simply working for the things we 'think' that we need.

After reading back on my posts, it could be said that I am a person of 'instantaneous gratitude', but much of that is due to my age, already having lived out the days of my life that required much waiting.  I had decades of learning to wait, and my childhood was about waiting for birthdays, Christmas, the end of bean and corn field walking season.  I recall looking through the Sears catalogue when it arrived each fall and ear marking the pages to let my parents know what I wanted for Christmas, knowing that I would need to wait for that new game, doll or purse until the big day arrived to find it beneath the tree.  And I knew that my first new camera would not be in my hands until I finished earning the money from being in the fields attacking the weeds between the bean plants.  

Once into adulthood, even though I had been taught to wait for things, it was not easy, and there were things I had to go without having married at a young age someone who spent our money on the things he loved and not things we as a family needed.  Life was hard at times.  And so it was that I learned that if I wanted certain items for the home that I would need to get a job and earn the money myself for a new sofa and chair, a set of Corelle dishware, a wooden table and chairs that were just the right size for my two year old young child to sit and play at.  
Instantaneous gratitude simply did not happen in those times.

My hope is that people will wake up and teach their children that YES... good things come to those who can learn to sit back patiently and wait while they learn the life lesson of working for what you need and what you want.

Goldie Hawn in the movie Overboard probably depicted instantaneous gratitude the best.
It was funny in the movie, but definitely not the best outcome to hope for when raising our children.


4 comments :

  1. Oh my gosh...this is perfect timing. We've been in a funk at our house for a couple of months...nothing was going our way. It's been rough, but I kept waiting for better days. Today the sun shone and the clouds parted...finally. At Christmas mass, the message was that our gift from God is the journey, not the destination...and how right that is. It's the waiting that makes you a better you.

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  2. I'm wondering if the term for this subject shouldn't be instant gratification. That's what I call it, and am just as guilty as the next person for wanting what I want when I want it. Learning delayed gratification can be rewarding, but doesn't come easily for most of us. I know I have always appreciated the things that I had to scrimp and save to obtain, though.

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  3. I find the younger set not doing much planning, budgeting, organizing and I think some of that cones from having every whim answered and there hasn't been the teaching of planning, organizing life needs and budgeting. I notice all of this especially in my "grand young adults." They have grown up having most of their "wants" answered immediately throughout their young lives and now they feel if they "want it they should have it, NOW." They are learning though, I am happy about that. One of my grands decided to start SAVING . . . and saving he did and recently purchased his first home. It took some prioritizing some of his "wants" so he could purchase a huge "want" and he did it!

    It is really fun to want something, see what you like and GET IT . . . but wise to put some patience energy into the mix too . . .

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  4. The cones word above should be comes . . .

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