Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Tolerance is a funny old word, one you rarely encounter, which is strange when you consider that we all practice it every day.

When you practice tolerance, you accept another’s ideas and beliefs. If you respect someone’s opinions — even if you disagree or find them nonsensical — you display tolerance.

The noun tolerance, which stems from the Latin for “endurance,” also refers to an organism’s ability to stand or handle a difficult environmental condition. If you build up a tolerance, you can handle large amounts of something (from medicine to psychological abuse) without being too strongly affected. We usually use the word to refer to our need to accept others, as suggested by John F. Kennedy when he said, “Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one’s own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.”

“Tolerance is the quality of allowing other people to say and do as they like, even if you do not agree or approve of it.”

“Tolerance is the ability to bear something painful or unpleasant.”

I only realised the other day that I must be exceedingly good at this tolerance thing…

Most of my many ailments have been double-checked by my doctor this year, with the same outcome for all of them. Almost everything inside me is old and slowly failing.

I was annoyed at the emphasis on the old aspect, for I don’t feel old despite everything. But I had to accept it for what it was, something to be expected at my age.

Up until recently, that is.

I thought that, hopefully, I would continue to age, so how much longer might I have? An interesting thought, right?

I am not particularly worried about my longevity. With my medical history, I didn’t expect to get to 80. So, any more will be the icing on the cake. Just don’t leave me helpless, as that I couldn’t bear.

Living is a bit like playing the lottery. You choose your numbers or have the machine select them for you, then sit back and wait to see if any of them win…

But they will probably have to beat me with a big stick to get me to shuffle off this planet, as I’m not going anywhere…

How’s that for tolerance?

works for the cold too!