The Prize of Patience Yashvi Patle In Nazareth, a small village in Tamil Nadu, 10 year old Alvis sat in front of the television, watching animals in scenic locations across the world. Beautiful peacocks, ferocious lions and swift deer. He could watch them all day. ‘Come here’, Alvis’s mother called out to him from outside the house. With his eyes still on the majestic beasts on the screen, he replied ‘Yes.’ He watched in awe as the tigress walked like royalty, fearless and proud. Her bright orange fur lined with powerful black stripes created an aura of strength around her. She was undoubtedly the Queen of this jungle, Alvis thought to himself. ‘ALVVISSS’, He heard his mother’s voice and came out of his day dream. He switched off the television and ran outside. *Fast forward 25 years* The wind in his hair, fresh jungle scents enveloping him and the calming sounds of nature. The Bandhavgarh National Park is truly a paradise. Looking for a tiger, their safari ventured in the depths of the jungle. The forest unfolded further and further, revealing its true beauty. The vehicle stopped at the sight of a striped tail under a jamun tree. Everyone waited with curious eyes and delight. Everyone waited, waited and waited. After 10 minutes, everyone, now tired of being curious sat back in their seats while Alvis kept his eyes glued to the swinging tail. After another 10 minutes, his companions whispered to him ‘Alvis, there are other tigers, you know’. Alvis insisted on waiting even more. A total of 30 minutes later, the tiger moved. Covered in mud, the tiger got up… all eyes glistened and jaws dropped… and rolled back to the same position, with only the tail visible again. The entire safari let out a gasp this time, including Alvis. 15 minutes later… It was evening now, the sun was going to set. The jungle had to be left on time otherwise there’d be a hefty fine on their heads. Disappointment started to set in. But Alvis was still hopeful. 5 minutes passed and now it was high time to set off if they wanted to make it out in time. Alvis looked up at the sky, took a deep breath to devour the fulfilling jungle scent and closely heard the sounds of retreating birds. He only had a minute now. 59…58…57…56…55…54 Alvis’s heart raced. ‘Please turn, please turn’ 30…29…28…27…26…25 In a really low voice, ‘We should call it a day now’, Alvis signaled the driver. 17…16…15 The driver held out his fingers to turn the ignition. 14…13…12 The key now turned, the engine gave out a slight ‘vroom’ 11…10…9 Right at this second, the tiger turned to look at the men waiting for him since an hour at the same spot. He slowly crept from beneath the leaves of the tree and lifted his head towards Alvis. He whispered under his breath ‘This is it.’ The tiger’s eyes were gleaming with curiosity as he examined the men on the safari. He looked at the camera. With a racing heart Alvis’ finger went click…click…click…click…click… as fast as it could. After the whole episode, Alvis sat back and closed his eyes and smiled as his thumping heart normalized with the sweet taste of victory. Dear Readers, We often hear ‘Good things come to those who wait.’ This statement is fundamentally correct, but there are so many things in the background. So should you wait or just let life take its course? Yes, good things come to those who wait but also, only to those who are willing to sacrifice their time, their energy and put their efforts into the things they really want. Impatience is normal. It is a human tendency. We need to look at ways we can transform ourselves into patient beings. The first step would be to understand that the work that goes behind achievements is more important than the rewards themselves. The path to your goal is even more exciting than the end result. Embrace the journey. Enjoy the wait. When you reach on the top of a mountain, you celebrate by looking down at the length you climbed to get up there. The best things happen to you when you least expect them to. Be calm, do your thing the best you can and let the end result come to you in its own time. Thanks for reading. Alvis Lazarus is a real person. He is a decorated photographer and holds recognition from NatGeo and BBC. The incident above is a true event and the following is the priceless picture he captured in that moment: Find his work here: www.wildlife.photography.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alvislazarusphotography