A Watched Pot . . . - Grasshopper

There’s an old expression that on its face seems right, but when you get right down to it, it doesn’t hold water. That familiar phrase is: A watched pot never boils.

Of course, it eventually boils, but it seems to take forever. So, what’s the connective tissue between watching and boiling? The answer is “patience.”

Patience has rarely been my strong suit in life, but when I do bring it out for a visit, it often presents me with gifts I rarely receive if I stand there and seethe. It presents me with answers.

I like to do crossword and Sudoku puzzles. But there comes a point when I get stumped. I just can’t figure out the missing pieces. I may rack my brain, but that’s all in vain until I refrain and take a break.

I go about doing something else and when I come back to my puzzle, answers appear without me having to shed a tear.

So patience isn’t waiting around. It’s about finding something else to do instead of working yourself into a stew, while your concoction continues to brew.

Like the nuns used to tell us, “Idleness is the Devil’s work.” So, instead of standing there tapping your foot and going berserk, use the secret ingredient of patience and do something else, and let your ideas perk.

All the best,