Patience

We humans are a hasty, impatient lot. That is quite understandable since we know we have limited time on this Earth. But we must temper this with wisdom. You cannot do everything at once and, somethings must wait. Sorry. That's just the way it is.
Haste makes waste goes the old saying and that is true because when you hurry, you often get sloppy and make poor choices.
Nature ,obes in cycles. Modern humans, especially Americans, do not accept that. For example. Most folkks love melons. Melons come into season in the summer and early fall in most of the Country. Well, Americans want melons whenever they get the taste. As a result, we pay huge sums to have melons shipped across the Country from California. They are picked green and are nearly tasteless, b ut we get them. They cost a lot in terms of gas usage, traffic, pollution, man hours and they are sorry excuses for melons, but we get them.
But, there are times of year when even our Western lands cannot grow them. Do we patiently wait the next season. anticipating the next, sweet batch of goodness? No. We start shipping them in from Guatemala. More cost, because they now are bringing them in on ships and then trucking them across the land. And, the quality is just as poor, if not worse.
Time was, we waited with anticipation for the year's first melons, usually around the Fourth of July. It was fun to wait and then have that waiting justified and satisfied. This is called delayed gratification and it is a fine thing Now, we damage the environment and the economy in hour list for instant satisfaction.
This is just one example of our impatience and admittedly, it is a somewhat trivial one, but I think it makes my point. Yes, there are emergency situations, but, by definition of the word emergency, they are rare.
I bring this subject up because a great many Americans are about to get a sharp lesson in patience. Hurricane Florence is passing, very slowly. Already I hear reporters asking officials about damage reports and repair status. The storm is not over, but they want answers now. Sorry. Cannot do that,
 And the residents are going to find themselves in a situation that will be unpleasant at best. No power. No cable or internet. Water everywhere. Automobile traffic nearly impossible. Food deliveries to stores will be slow and sporadic if stores are even able to open.
And, what will be the worst for them all, there is not one thing they can do to solve the problems.  I have seen this before and have been in it. It is so hard to deal with, but you must and the only path is patience. Americans do not like having to be patient, but that is all you can do. There is one plus in that. You will learn a great deal about who you are as a person.
Stay calm and help your neighbors. That is how you get through. The rest of us, those not in the storm need to pray for those who are about to suffer.