Page 127 - The Book of Rumi

Patience

he legendary physician Loghman had been in the service of the great
Tking David for many years. During one particularly busy period when
he was quite occupied with his numerous patients, he had been unable to pay
his regular visits to the popular king of the Jews. After several weeks, when
Loghman fi nally found himself free of patients, he decided to pay a call on
his beloved master.
Duly he arrived at the palace and was told that David was busy at work in
a nearby barn. As Loghman approached the ramshackle barn, he found David

hard at work, with sparks flying in the air all around him. Immersed in the
task at hand, David did not immediately notice Loghman enter the barn and
continued toiling away. A heap of small metal rods lay before him, which he
skillfully heated and looped into circles and then linked together, creating a
smooth garment of chain mail. He continued in this fashion for some time,
repeating the procedure patiently.
Until that day, Loghman had never witnessed the craft of manufacturing

armor, and he was baffled. He was dying to ask David what he was making;
however, he stopped himself and thought it best to wait and not interrupt
the master craftsman. He knew that, invariably, patience directs people much
more quickly to their desired objective, and he trusted his intuition. “When
one doesn’t persist in sating one’s curiosity, one often gets what one wants that
much quicker,” he thought to himself.
Thus, Loghman remained silent and continued to patiently observe
David. Once the king was fi nished with his work, he pulled the armor over his
head and shoulders and turned to face Loghman: “This is the best outfi t to
wear at war! I guarantee that it will protect a man against the deadliest blows,”
declared David, noticing the surprise in Loghman’s face.
Loghman was thrilled that he had kept his silence despite his curiosity
and had not interrupted the master at work.

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