Learning Patience in Childhood — Has It Gone?
By Dr. Catherine W. Dunne | Holistic HealthCare Wexford & Aumvedas Academy
ABOUT CATHERINE: Dr Catherine W Dunne MSc. D., RGN, Reiki Master (RGMT), M.H.I.T: Master Acupressure, Practitioner of Reflexology, Aromatherapy, Deep Tissue/Myo-fascia Massages, Infrared Treatments, Vibrational Sound and Colour Therapist, Tissue Salt Advisor, Pendulum Healing Dowser, Chakra Practitioner , Tao Cosmic Healing Practitioner, Practitioner of Plant and Herb Medicine and Nurse.
I would like to share a story, as story that reflects the generational differences.
I recently had three young ladies for treatment – friends and I believe them to be in their mid to late twenties.
Before I started the individual treatments, we sat in the living room, fire burning gently. I offered them tea from home-grown plants – my own relaxing, detoxing tea blend – served in a quaint Asian-style tea set.
One of the ladies commented on the hexagon-shaped tea cups. They are small, each just about holding 125 ml. They are tiny compared to the mugs we all use today.
I smiled and began to tell them the story of how I came to own this little set.
The Tea Shop Story
In Germany, we have Tea and Coffee shops. Not the kind, where you sit down for a cup. No. Not cafés. These coffee shops sell loose coffee beans from various countries. They get grounded to your desired strength of taste or sold as the whole bean.
The tea shops were magical places, filled with the scent of faraway lands. You could buy loose teas from every corner of the globe, or even have your own blend created for you.
Now I am 59 years young.
In 1979 or 1980 when I was 13, I saw the most beautiful Asian tea service set in one of those shops. Six hexagon shaped cups, a rectangular shaped tea pot with a bamboo handle, and a small tealight stove. White porcelain with delicate pale blue motifs.
Price tag: 150 Deutsch Marks — about £220 Irish Pounds at the time.
The three ladies gasped when I said that.
A Lesson in Patience
I wanted that tea set so badly. I went into the shop and asked if I could pay it off weekly. The owner smiled but declined.
Every week I went back. Every week it was still there. Every week I asked again. This went on for about four weeks.
During that time, I did extra chores at home, bumping up my pocket money. When I had saved 20 Marks, I returned to the shop once more, clutching my little bundle of notes.
I asked the same question and this time I showed her that I had managed to save DM20. Was chuffed with myself. This time, the shop owner must have seen the determination in my eyes. She agreed.
I had my first “account”.
At weekends, I worked at the local garden centre, and every Monday after school, I walked to the tea shop to pay off a little more.
It took me a total of ten weeks to buy my set. I was the proudest kid in town!
When I collected it, the shop owner gifted me a small tin of Japan’s prized Sencha Green Tea … I still have the tin to this day.
That year, I learned something that has stayed with me all my life: intention and focus, the willingness to work hard, and most of all, patience with oneself — they always pay off in the long run.
Old School vs. New School
The three young women looked at me, stunned.: “What????? You had to work for it????”
“No”, I said. “I didn’t have to. But I wanted it badly enough, so I had to go the extra mile. And yes, I still have that whole set — and I’m still proud of it.”
Watching their faces, it suddenly dawned on me that they had been raised in a different world. A world where things often appear with a click or a swipe. We had to earn what we wanted: one coin, one chore, one small triumph at a time. Patience wasn’t something we were taught; it was something we lived.
“You see”, I said, “this generation (pointing at myself) … in our day we had to work for what we wanted. If we wanted ice cream, go to the cinema, buy that teenager magazine Bravo…. We had to work for our pocket money by completing certain chores around the home.”
The Reflection
I was now the one with a stunned look on the face, when I observed their reactions.
I suppose there’s “Old School” and “New School” in everything. But I can’t help thinking that patience, like tea, tastes better when it’s been given time to brew.
And now, I’m feeling old… giggle.
The little tea set that taught me patience and still reminds me of it every time I pour a cup.
What’s something you had to work hard for as a child that something that made you proud every time you saw it?
Share your story in the comments below. I’d love to hear it.
I hope you feel inspired. Look after your body, and it will keep you healthy.
Catherine
CWD 15 November 2025/Ireland
Holistic Healthcare Wexford & Workshops 