Video: We Want It NOW

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Published: May 21, 2011

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Visitor Comments: 14

(12) Anonymous, October 10, 2011 2:27 PM

I'm Listening

Lori, You are a very nice lady clearly. I was brought up Christain, but love everything Jewish for some reason. I am in the patience of waiting to learn the truth of spiritual things. Patience is indeed hard, for I too want all the answers now. Thanks for your words of wisdom, they help as I wait for my answer.

(11) lisa, May 26, 2011 3:16 AM

if not now....when?

Nothing wrong with wanting it now........bc we really all know deep down that it cant be now...but we have the eliment of hope that maybe it can! We are human....should we say to Hashem..."it's OK if it takes a few months..."....no...we do want it now & bc of that urgency hopefully our tefilot with also have intensity & urgency. Yes....I want it now....but I know with patience it will come...either tomorrow....or in 2 weeks...or in 4 months......but nothing wrong with wanting it NOW!!!! If not now...when?

Bob, May 31, 2011 11:53 AM

Learning to trust

UIf not now....when WOW what a questuion That does not demish the trust we have in the absolute widom and chaacter we have in G-D Thanks for your Post.

(10) Anonymous, May 25, 2011 1:37 AM

Patience, patience, patience....breathe deep and have patience.

I was just thinking of patience when this article came up. Don't laugh, but today I was working with an untrained horse, I know horses are not very important in todays world, but I love them and find them very beautiful. Any way, about patience....it took only 6 days and the first 2 were diagnostic, to get this one to be cooperative and happy in her work, which isn't a lot but requires her to be ambidextrious, and who is..... Not a lot of patience but it turns out that I have that much. For me this is a good way to learn PATIENCE. Because... true confessions now, I am sometimes BiPolar and that mood disorder requires a lot of work on patience.

(9) Joel, May 25, 2011 12:30 AM

The Spirituality of NOW!

Although we do in fact live in a society that demands everything now, demanding instant gratification and in general, being less than patient, need not be such a terrible phenomenon. We teach our children they must wait because that is what mature people do in order to achieve good results. Waiting is seen as a great virtue. However we must recognize what it is that we require mature people to wait for. For material desires it may be mature to learn to wait. However, spiritually speaking, waiting is not a virtue at all. When it comes to how we approach G-d, it is true we must proceed slowly and purposefully. This is not synonymous with waiting however. When it comes to what we expect of G-d in return, it is correct to demand action NOW! Hashem must respond to our cries, our dreams and our desire for help immediately. Why? Because the world was perfect before the sin of eating from The Tree of Knowledge. Their was no such thing as waiting. That is how G-d created the world to be. This was His intent. No waiting! After the world became corrupt by the Fruit of the Tree of Knowlege, we had to wait to bear fruit, to bear children etc. etc. When Moshiach comes the world will revert back to that state of no waiting and perfection again. Why do children cry that they want it now? Because they represent the state of the world before it became corrupt by eating the Forbidden Fruit. We adults are corrupt in a spiritual sense. Children are innocent and pure. They speak the truth. When children can demand of G-d they want Him revealed in this world NOW, what they are requesting is for Hashem to take the world back to the state that the world was in prior to the Pri Etz Haddas, the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Then the world will be perfect again with no waiting. If we take heed of the children and demand of G-d to answer our prayers now and send Moshiach, then the world will be perfect again with no more waiting! No more evil, no more stress, no negativity. Only G-dliness.

(8) ruth housman, May 24, 2011 6:58 PM

"It's about time"

You are right on target here, because it is Ay Ay Ay, and I love the word play here with I pod, and all the instant I's in our lives. Sometimes, though, it feels like it should be NOW, like getting the promise in what G_d did Promise, and the why of it taking so much time. Will it always be the OW, in Not Now, later? Maybe life is entirely about Wait and Hope, the last chapter, last page of A Tale of Two Cities. My Father's mantra was this. G_d's mantra is this, too. Obviously. Or the song Imagine would take root, around the world, and Joun Lennon would have his dream come true, and Martin luther King, and all the sages of Jewish history who want this "thing' to happen. There are surely degree of impatience. There is the impatience with a stalled computer, and then there is the imptience of feeling G_d is stalling. Well, the horse is in the stall, and i have a feeling this horse will make that final race across the finish line.

(7) Lauren Adilev Cohen, May 24, 2011 6:40 PM

Loved Comment About Children!

Lori: Your comment about needing patience with children was just what I needed to hear! My kids were so rude to me an hour ago. We're poor and live in a small apartment, and they were complaining about the lack of space and not having tons of toys. They both said they wanted another family and I was thinking that might be a good idea! I'm exhausted after grad school today. Your comment will hold me through the night. Thanks! Lauren in Efrat

(6) Benjamin, May 24, 2011 6:28 PM

Literally "Timeless" Advice

For whatever reason this week's offering really hit the nail on the head for me. Particularly the last part about patience in our spiritual growth. This past year has been partiuclarly challenging for many people, and in my own experience I have found that what you talked about has been the key to the survival of my relationships and other challenges. I have learned -- without exception -- that if you put time into your relationships they are all capable of being enhanced. I have been putting in the effort learning with a local Rabbi (maybe you know him?) and I know that this effort is paying off as well in terms of my spiritual growth. but patience is the key. Yasher koach.

(5) beth Horwitz, May 23, 2011 2:23 AM

Patience & timing are everything.....Remember to a mother PORCUPINE, her children ARE soft!

(4) SusanE, May 22, 2011 1:08 PM

Patience.......what's That?

I agree Lori, that patience is a scarce commodity these days. I see impatience as a symptom of a much greater problem in humans. And that is Ego and Entitlement.

Welton, May 24, 2011 10:24 PM

Totally agree

Susan, I could not agree more. i would add that when it comes to children and 'wanting it now,' it takes all the love two parents can muster to stand together and be successful.

(3) Rosen, May 22, 2011 12:53 PM

reminded me of Veruca Salt

This video, Lori, reminded me of Veruca Salt from the original "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory", particularly when she sung "I want it now!" in the room of golden geese...Indeed, if we want things right away and expect instant gratification, we're just going to be miserable. That's the problem that has been going on for the past 30-40 years in a generation so saturating with all the "gimme-gimmes."

(2) Anonymous, May 22, 2011 10:07 AM

So True

And so sad at the same time. It almost makes one wonder how people managed to function without the convenience of modern technology. I, for one , is guilty of being dependent on computers but I sometimes feel it would do us some good to become less reliant on technology and put our instincts into practice more since people no longer have the patience to think and come up with strategies. Computers are also responsible for the escalating illiteracy rate among the younger population since you can surf the web for information rather than look it up in a book. Nothing seems to be everlasting these days anymore.Everything has to have a deadline.I agree and acknowledge that our lack of patience is a problem.

(1) Ayalah Haas, May 22, 2011 8:21 AM

Thank You for this Important Reminder

One of your BEST segments. Everything is phrased so well! At any given moment here in Israel, one Israeli will tell another, "Savlanut! (Be Patient!)" In her stand-up routine, comedienne Cathy Ladman admits that her dear dad stands in from of the microwave yelling, "Hurry up!"

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About the Author

Mrs. Lori Palatnik

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Lori Palatnik is a writer and Jewish educator who has appeared on television and radio, and is the author of "Friday Night and Beyond: The Shabbat Experience Step-By-Step," "Remember My Soul - What to do in Memory of a Loved One," and co-author of "Gossip: 10 Pathways to Eliminate It From Your Life and Transform Your Soul." She is a much sought-after international speaker, having lectured in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, U.K., Central America, South America, South Africa and Israel, including featured talks at Yale, Brown and Penn. She lives in the Washington D.C. area, with her husband, Rabbi Yaakov Palatnik. Lori is the Founder of The Jewish Women's Renaissance Project, an international initiative that brings over 1,000 women to Israel each year from ten different countries on highly subsidized programs to inspire them with the beauty and wisdom of their heritage. She is the busy mother of five children, ages 24 to 14; and her son, Zev, just finished serving as a sharpshooter in the IDF. Her weekly video blog, "Lori Almost Live" is a popular feature on aish.com, viewed by over 50,000 people each month.

Follow Lori on Twitter, @LoriAlmostLive

We Want It NOW

Patience is a rare commodity.

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