Patience in 2019

One of the things I really need to work on in this New Year is patience with other people. The older I get, the less tolerance I have for ignorance and stupidity. It appears to me that basic common sense, civility, and logical thinking have all diminished rapidly in the past several years. I fear that technology is robbing us of our core human values. Rather than being “more connected”- as has been the mantra behind each new technological innovation- we have become less able to communicate and express ourselves to one another without vitriol and absurdities. It feels like we have lost some essential “humanness”- the ability to THINK, the qualities of perspective and judgement, empathy- in some respects just simple human decency. Maybe every generation says the same things when they reach middle age- maybe it’s just the natural resistance to societal evolution that has been going on since the dawn of time. But on a personal level, I need to take a step back and exhibit more patience with my fellow man. I have had high standards- too high many say- for both myself and others my entire life, and of course, that inevitably leads to disappointment and disillusionment . Both internally and externally. It just feels like we’re on a different playing field these days- or maybe the older I get the more I use up my lifetime supply of tolerance. I know I sound like my father, and HIS father- I hear that echo somedays when I go on a rant about something. Patience is something that needs to at the forefront of my personal “to-do list” in the coming year.