Patience

Patience comes with practice. Our basic animal nature drives us hormonally to satisfy our needs immediately and opportunistically. When our achievement of satiation is thwarted, we get anxious or angry. We sublimate or act out against the perceived obstacle to our comfort. 

Patience is an indicator of mature self-development. It is an element of compassion, since patient observation and listening is required to understand the suffering or joy of another from that person's perspective.Patience should not be confused with general passivity, which is more indicative of depression.

Being a peaceful and joyful humanist in a materialistic world requires a good amount of patience. Accepting the limits of an individual practice helps. Learning to practice listening more than speaking also helps. The greatest patience is the patience with the self. By learning to accept my own limitations and qualities without competitive comparisons to others I develop the skill of patience which I can extend to others and to life situations.