This week, I want to talk about patience.

It seems like these days – for me especially – patience is a commodity that is becoming harder and harder to come by.

With the explosion of “smart-phone-esque” technology including tablet PC’s, netbooks, laptops and cell phones, people have nearly everything at their fingertips, now. Everything from banking apps, to Google search, the only limitation on information or entertainment is internet speed.

A couple of days ago, I was browsing an app on my phone that shows short, funny, user-created comics, when all of the sudden, the next comic failed to load. This is something I regularly do, and initially blamed the app itself, thinking it may have a bug that was causing it to fail. After closing and reloading the app, the comics still weren’t loading, and I began getting frustrated.

So I began going through my mental checklist to test potential problems. I started by turning off the wi-fi connection on my phone, and noticed the comics began to load again, albeit more slowly. Then I turned the wi-fi back on, and opened the browser to see if I could navigate to web pages, and if I could, that meant that it actually was the application and not my internet going down. After a couple of minutes of refreshing, I realized my internet was the problem. I took a glance at my router to notice that all the applicable lights were on, indicating that it wasn’t an equipment failure. So after all this, I called my internet provider to find out that they were aware that some customers were experiencing internet connectivity difficulties.

All that, to look at a couple of comics. While waiting for the internet signal to return, I almost was unsure what to do with myself and began to become impatient. This is where the idea for this column came from.

Think about it. How often have you been waiting in line at a fast food restaurant and gotten frustrated that it was taking so long? Rarely have any of us ever been in line for more than 10 minutes at a drive-through, but our impatience gets the best of us. We want what we want, and we want it immediately.

That’s why there is any type of app for your phone you can think of.

This situation doesn’t only apply to technology either, but I can’t help but think technology has played a part in it.

I get frustrated with kids and the way they behave, now. I’m only 23 – I turn 24 in March, and I shouldn’t have the same mindset toward teenagers that senior citizens do. It just seems like there is not a lot of respect for anyone anymore, but that is another column for another day.

Folks, the fact of the matter is this: patience is not something that we are born with. It is something we learn. However, it is also something we learn to lose. With work and thought, we can grow more patience with each other and with technology, which can lead to a more fulfilling marriage/relationship, friendship, experience or life.

The more in a hurry you are, the less you actually get to savor what you are experiencing.

Like Ferris Bueller said, sometimes you gotta stop and smell the roses. If not your life will pass you by.

If you find yourself becoming frustrated, take a deep breath, realize that your frustration won’t last longer than a few moments, and go on about your day. Don’t allow other people, or other people’s creations to control your mood or emotions.

(Kyle Harris is the news reporter for the Bullard Banner News. He can be reached at kharris3@ patriots.uttyler.edu)