“It is better to be a warrior in a garden than to be a gardener in a war.”
– Unknown
I am not the most patient person in the world. In fact, if you know me well personally, I’m far from it.
In the past few weeks, I’ve seen this great story about a student asking his master about reconciling both peace and fighting, that ends with the quote above. The story is about a mindset and habits that form preparedness. It may be preparedness for battle, it may be for love, and it may even be for leadership.
A good friend of mine is an excellent pistol marksman. As one does in training martial arts, he trains in shooting: specializing in a core discipline and adding on other training. When asked why he trains, he will reply, “You train ten thousand hours for that one second.”
While things may not always be what they seem while you may “just” be training or waiting around, it’s not actually about patience or not patience, it’s about preparedness. Every moment of your life is in preparation for the next. Everything you’ve ever experienced is to prepare you for this very moment. And even this moment is to prepare you for the next. There is never need to take any moment for granted. Your life has brought you to today.
Train well. Experience well. Be prepared. Your moment is now.
In Between Degrees 