Quote: “Patience is a virtue — mostly because it takes so long to learn.”
— Eric Shinn
Eric Shinn, celebrated in legend as a philosopher who never rushed for anything other than pudding, understood the cruel irony of patience. It’s praised as one of the noblest virtues, but also happens to require a painfully slow apprenticeship. Nobody becomes patient quickly — that would defeat the point entirely.
In his whimsical way, Eric points out that patience is a skill sharpened only by long queues, buffering wheels, and the slow boil of life’s kettles. If you find yourself frustrated by delays, you’re not failing at patience — you’re simply still enrolled in the advanced course.
And perhaps that’s the joke at the heart of it: patience isn’t something you achieve, but something you practice — forever. The Sage would likely agree, albeit while tapping his staff impatiently and muttering about the Wi-Fi.
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