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The Fruit (Patience) 


"Good things, come to those who wait." The famous aphorism of patience, states. Every individual wants the best things in life, but the most unfortunate part is that "patience" is a trait that not every individual posses. If success was an overnight achievement, every entity would be living the dream.

Why is it that good things or, rather, the best things in life take time and require one to wait a certain period before they can enjoy the benefits of the pain they've endured? Patience is a trait that a preponderance of individuals lack in these present times, owing to how we've gotten used to the instant life. Instant porridge, instant noodles etc. This life has become so fast paced to a point whereby the general population has grown unfamiliar to patience. Relationships don't last, most of today's music is bubblegum, almost everything that exists in this era is ephemeral. It's rare to find something that lasts longer these days, considering how we've gotten used to the idea of replacing everything that's broken. Humans and the journey to success are both consanguineous to the metamorphosis of a tree or plants.

The problem about modern Africans is that we've become too attached to materials that we no longer have time to spend with nature, let alone growing plants or trees. Hence, we've become oblivious to the significance of being patient in whatever we hope to achieve or attain. Patience, is truly a virtue. Look at what it got Sir Colonel Sanders after going through sharp vicissitudes of fortune for so many years, but he never stopped. Irregardless of how many experiments failed, but John Pemberton never stopped working in the lab. Tembisile Hani spent almost his whole life in exile, while fighting for the emancipation of his people. Adolf Hitler even went to prison, but he never stopped pursuing what his heart desired. Shaka Zulu commenced with an army of 400 warriors which later expanded to thousands. Patience is an art. Even planet earth has to endure four seasons, fifty two weeks, twelve months and three hundred and sixty five days in order to complete a year. Same as trees.

It doesn't matter how big a tree may be, but the fact of the matter is that it all begins with seeds. If something as miniature as seeds can end up metamorphosing into something as Colossal as a Baobab tree. That should teach you about the power of patience. But patience alone does not have any impact, persistence and consistency complement the whole formula. Even for trees to grow, light and water are needed. The same goes with pursuing dreams, it requires effort, optimism, faith, constant motivation, goals and a whole lot more. Even the colonizers took their time to study the behavior of Africans before they took over. Nothing happens overnight, except failure and downfall. Patience is an art. Pablo Picasso did not just move his pencil twice then came out with the best art. He visualized it first. Made gobs of mistakes, erased and did better than the first attempt until he became a successful and globally recognized artist. Patience and mistakes are best friends, if you take a good look at it. Giving up is simply quitting when one makes mistakes. However, applying a little bit of patience and effort in rectifying, learning from them and moving forward more wiser and cautious is a process that cannot commence nor proceed with success without patience. For whatever we consider valuable or precious to us, or what we deem our dreams or goals require patience, persistence and consistency. In order for seeds to germinate and end up producing fruits, they require consistent watering and light. You don't plant seeds and get trees overnight.

In order to succeed at writing, you have to write an article, or a passage, or a dialogue, daily until you're able to write about anything that pops up in your head. Same goes with soccer, music, studying or anything one intends to achieve. In life, everything that's worth having requires patience. A fixed fact. We often erect our index and middle as a symbol for peace. Unfortunately, that's not how peace can be achieved. Peace requires understanding, and understanding requires love. You cannot understand what you don't love, and you cannot love what you don't understand. Understanding requires attention, attention requires listening. Now that's where it all starts. That's what will end all these unnecessary quarrels that occur in African communities, daily. All we need is to be patient with each other, considering how disparate we are.

We need to understand one another, and that also requires a great deal of empathy. If we give each other a chance, then we'll be able to live together in peace and harmony, within our communities. Patience is all we need, if we want to end up enjoying the fruits.

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