Hurried or Impatient?

I am reading Artemis by Andy Weir right now. He is such an incredible author and this one might be one of my favorites of his work. This is about a colony, Artemis, started on the moon. The protagonist, Jasmine “Jazz” Bashara, is a citizen of Artemis who works as delivery woman and also smuggles goods to survive in the expensive city. I don’t want to give away the plot because you need to read the book. But for the context of this post, Jazz is carrying out a rebellion to save the city. Her dad, Ammar Bashara, does not approve of her rebellion but still helps her with a welding project that is needed to be carried out. Ammar is a Muslim who works as a highly skilled welder in Artemis. He taught Jazz to weld and was talking her through a project as she was welding.

At one point Ammar said to Jazz, “You’re not in any hurry, just impatient.” This caused me to pause and to think about how many times this happens to us. We get in a hurry even though we don’t need to be; we are just impatient. When we feel hurried due to impatience, it often stems from internal feelings like frustration, anxiety, or a lack of trust in the process. Even if our outward behavior suggests we believe there’s no rush, our internal state might be pushing us to act hurriedly.

This disconnect can lead to unnecessary stress and may even affect our interactions or decision-making. In the context of Artemis, Jazz’s dad recognized this and was worried about her ability to make perfect welds because she was hurrying and did not need to hurry; she had plenty of time. Recognizing this helps us understand that patience isn’t just about external actions but also about managing our internal responses.

To address this, we can focus on mindfulness techniques—such as deep breathing or pausing before reacting—to help slow down internal impulses. Cultivating awareness of these feelings allows us to consciously choose patience over impatience, leading to more peaceful and effective outcomes.

Byron's Babbles