Have you ever burned the roof of your mouth on a hot chocolate chip cookie because you didn’t want to wait for it to cool down? What about interrupting a classmate or colleague because they were taking too long to formulate their answer? Or doing something for your child, like tying their shoelaces, because you were in a rush?
In an age where we are constantly bombarded with stimuli, patience is more challenging. On Monday, our Keshet Crew introduced the new middah (character trait) of savlanut (patience). I feel like we’ve been building up to strengthening this trait all year. Like all other middot, it’s not about having too much or too little, it’s about finding the right balance; with too much patience we can’t accomplish anything and with too little our quick actions usually end up with unintended results.
Each month our 8th graders add the new middah to our rainbow stairs – the top one being a question to ponder. As I walked up the stairs this week, I’ve thought a lot about the new question, “What is worth waiting for?” It’s no surprise that many of my top 5 are Yavneh related:
- COVID vaccine
- Next school year being in-person from the very first day
- The Virtual Annual Art Walk on May 20th
- Handing out 8th grade diplomas to our 8th graders on campus on June 2nd
- Being able to safely hug my parents and extended family
What’s on your list? Creating the list is the easy part; the work comes with implementing techniques that help reduce frustration while being patient. Studies showed that focusing on the opportunities presented by waiting are most helpful. For me, the magic of Yavneh is when we come together as a community. While we haven’t been able to gather as a whole school community in person for over a year, it’s certainly another thing worth waiting for.
