Patience Is An Indispensible Virtue Which Fuels Learning

 

What is common sense for today's generation is innovation and science for the previous one. My husband said this to me. And that made me ponder on. Our lockdown life, due to covid, has prompted the government to apply strict rules. One of that includes 'only essential services will work from office'. Since I work in one of those sectors, it was my usual day to work. On my way back, I booked a cab service through an app; just a regular affair for me. The driver called and asked me where I was, I told him to follow the map, but he failed to understand and asked me for directions.

While he arrived, I was on the phone, so I gave the OTP of the ride to the driver. Engrossed in my convesation, waiting for the ride to begin, I started to get impatient. I asked the driver what the matter was. Then I saw him struggle with the app to put the OTP and get the directions. Losing my temper I asked him to make it quick and finally gave him inputs to get going. Soon after, the driver started asking me if he is going the right way and a lankmark close to my destination. I told him to follow the map. It was half way to the drop location, it started to rain. I had to walk a bit after the drop, which could make me get drenched in the rain, so I changed my destination in the app and informed the same to my driver. The driver then again got confused with the new location. I kept giving him directions, but with few roads being blocked due to the lockdown, and with the driver's ignorance, it finally got difficult for me to reach the exact place.

 
In a haste I told him to drop me to a spot from where I could walk it up. To add to my increasing irritation levels, the driver was unaware of how to end the trip, so that we could see the fare. I again guided him through and finally asked him if he had downloaded the app now and was a new user. He said 'yes mam'. I paid him the fare and left.

The incident played on my mind and I thought to myself, of the behaviour I displayed to the driver, it was very unlike me, as normally I consider myself to be a patient person. I thought maybe circumstances played their role.

On meeting my husband, I narrated the entire story. While I expressed my true emotions of irritation and feeling short tempered, pat came the golden words. 'What is common sense for today's generation is innovation, science for the previous one.' You need to give time to people, but our busy lives teach us otherwise. It is easy to judge, but difficult to perceive and digest the truth about another person's ignorance. It is good to know new technology, but one must not look down upon those who are also making an attempt to learn. I felt a lump in my throat and had learnt a new lesson. 

Where do we show such behaviours? With children, or the older generation, or while dealing with the less learned. What is common sense for me, can be a 'yet to learn it' for another.