A woman was nearly run over last week, as I waited to cross the road at a busy intersection in downtown Toronto. She got impatient as the bustling pedestrians of Toronto waited for the walk signal at the corner of Yonge and Bloor street. A man turned to me and quietly said, “some people need to understand the importance of patience.” I gave him a glance of acknowledgement at our bewilderment for what we just saw.
Life works in strange ways. Later that day, as I was rushing to catch the train back to my office from Toronto, I decided to stop quickly to get a cup of coffee to enjoy on my ride back. I tried to remain poise and not show signs that I was in a rush (I know how irritating this can be) as the clerks tried to restock the empty coffee canisters. Of course, all were empty at exactly the moment I stopped and there was no coffee running to replace them. My usual inclination would be to walk away, however, this time I patiently waited with a smile on my face. Less than 2 minutes later, the nice lady behind the counter leaned over and said, “sir, you’ve been so patient, this one is on us”.
After thanking her for the generous gesture, I realized my train should be arriving. Walking calmly up to the platform, I thought I would surely miss the train. To my amazement, the train had experienced a minor mechanical issue with one of the doors and the train left 5 minutes late. I made the scheduled trip back.
In writing this, I’ve been able to reflect on some of the big life decisions I’ve made over the years. Believe me, I’ve made my fair share of awful decisions in my life. However, awful decisions seemed to usually follow an impatience on my part. Good decisions were characteristically made in patience and diligence.
In 2008, the Global Financial markets experienced one of the worst downturns in recent memory. At exactly the same time when people were panicking and urgently exiting the markets, I was able to make one of my good life decisions in remaining patient. Five plus years later, I am reminded why sometimes it’s good to be patient during uncertain and chaotic times.
Thanks to a strange man on a street corner in Toronto, I am reminded why it’s important to stay patient – good things will happen.
Authored by Isaac Musial August 13, 2014
